Flavier: GMA wants 4 Lakas Senate leaders to be ‘bloomers’

Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Flavier is vying with Senate President Franklin Drilon and three other partymates to be President Arroyo’s choice as Lakas-NUCD standard-bearer in next year’s elections.

The three others are: Senate Majority Floor Leader Loren Legarda, and Senators Ramon Magsaysay and Robert Barbers.

Flavier told reporters yesterday Mrs. Arroyo, who co-chairs Lakas, asked them during a meeting in Malacañang two weeks ago to "start working for the improvement of our popularity" if they want to be considered as the administration’s presidential bet

"The President told us to become bloomers so we can select the standard-bearer," he said.

Flavier said the challenge could only mean that Mrs. Arroyo was starting to scout for a candidate who could lead Lakas to victory in next year’s elections.

"I took it to mean that one of the bases for the selection of the administration’s standard-bearer is the usual survey results," he said. "What is the depth of the support of the people."

Malacañang has welcomed Flavier’s earlier announcement that he will run for president next year if he gets the nomination of Lakas.

Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo and presidential adviser for political affairs Jose Rufino said the former barrio doctor would make a strong contender.

"I think there are many worthy presidential candidates and certainly one of them is Senator Flavier but there are several others who are about to throw their hats into the ring," Romulo said when asked by reporters to comment on Flavier’s unexpected announcement.

"He is interested. A very nice person and cute. Even the opposition expects him," Rufino said.

"He has no enemy. And hopefully he would be the healer of the nation and, perhaps, nobody would run against him."

Rufino said other Lakas partymates who are also strong candidates are Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., the party’s president; Drilon; Legarda, Barbers and Sen. Noli de Castro.

Flavier joined the government when he was appointed in the early 1990s by President Fidel Ramos as his health secretary.

His down-to-earth style and sense of humor made him popular even though he ran afoul of the influential Roman Catholic Church for promoting artificial birth control.

He ran for senator in 1995 and for re-election in 2001, handily winning both polls.

Flavier, who like former education secretary Raul Roco goes around without a bodyguard, said the "deciding factor" will be his standing in the surveys and he would "respond to the call of duty" if he does well in the opinion polls.

Roco — who has consistently topped opinion surveys — is "not the priority" choice of Lakas, members said.

While Roco is not a member of Lakas, his Aksyon Demokratiko party is part of Mrs. Arroyo’s People Power Coalition (PPC), of which Lakas is the dominant party.

"Because, as you know, there are so many strong candidates from Lakas — or homegrown, so to speak — they would get the first crack rather than Roco," Rufino said.

Two other parties within PPC — Reporma and Probinsiya Muna Development Initiative — have earlier endorsed Roco as the majority coalition’s presidential bet in the 2004 elections for consistently topping opinion surveys.

Asked to comment on Roco’s approval ratings, Rufino said there are other things to consider aside from popularity polls.