NPC leaders hope Cory will not campaign vs Danding

Family ties may be strained, but the camp of businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco hopes his first cousin, former President Corazon Aquino, would not campaign against him should he decide to run in next year’s presidential elections.

Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) made this remark in the event that Aquino decides not to back Cojuangco’s bid for the presidency once he makes up his mind to give it another try.

"Hopefully, at the very least, she will not campaign against him if she will not support him," Escudero said Tuesday night on the ANC news program "Strictly Politics" when asked if he feels Cojuangco will get the former president’s support.

Cojuangco and Aquino have remained estranged since the martial law era, when Cojuangco was a crony of then President Ferdinand Marcos and Aquino’s husband, exiled Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was Marcos’ political foe.

Cojuangco returned from exile years after the 1986 EDSA revolt ousted Marcos and he eventually ran, but lost, in the 1992 presidential derby.

Cojuangco is the president of the NPC party affiliated with the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.

Despite the political rift between the cousins, Marinduque Rep. Edmundo Reyes Jr. of Lakas-CMD believes blood could prove to be thicker than water.

"Blood is still thicker than water," Reyes said in the same program. He said that in his talk last month with Aquino’s son, Tarlac Rep. Noynoy Aquino, he gleaned that "they have yet to cut it down to deciding" whom to support, as the field of presidential contenders remains wide open.

Cojuangco has been keeping the public guessing whether or not he will vie for the helm of government again in next year’s elections.

Escudero also said the odds of Cojuangco making a fresh bid for the presidency next year are between "80 and 90 percent."

"Those who did not support Cojuangco in 1992 are now the ones pushing for his candidacy," Escudero said, adding that during a conversation with Cojuangco, he was told the beer magnate said there was an "80 to 90 percent" chance he would run for president next year.

He said "voices of support coming from other parties" could also bolster Cojuangco’s chances of winning the 2004 polls.

Davao Rep. Prospero Nograles earlier said Cojuangco is waiting for President Arroyo to make up her mind before announcing his own plans. Escudero said the political parties NPC is allied with will also be consulted before Cojuangco announces his decision.

Meanwhile, calls for Mrs. Arroyo to run in the presidential race next year have begun gathering strength from various sectors despite her vow last Dec. 30 that she would quit the race.

Escudero said he expects the NPC to be "consulted" first "prior to any announcement" that Mrs. Arroyo will run in 2004, if she changes her mind about her Rizal Day declaration.

The President has repeatedly said she is comfortable being a non-candidate, but her partymates in Lakas-CMD are still optimistic she will change her mind.

So far, only former education secretary Raul Roco, whose party, Aksyon Demokratiko, is allied with the ruling party, and opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson have declared their intent to join the presidential derby in 2004.— With Paolo Romero