Loren to announce 2004 plans before Christmas

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda, who tops the list of possible running mates of presidential aspirant Fernando Poe Jr., said yesterday she will reveal her political plans in three weeks’ time.

In an interview with The STAR, Legarda said negotiations between her camp and that of three presidential hopefuls — Poe, former education secretary Raul Roco and President Arroyo — are still ongoing.

She did not mention anything about her camp’s negotiations with Sen. Panfilo Lacson, which she said last Thursday were still ongoing.

"Before Christmas I will have my final decision on whether to run for vice president and with whom I will be teaming up," she said.

Legarda added that she was elated by an earlier statement made by Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III that she topped the list of possible running mates for Poe.

"Nakakataba ng puso. Anything is possible. Of course, I will consider the invitation of those who have really explored talks. I have to decide if I really have to run for vice president. I will team up with someone who is suitable to the needs of the country and who needs my help," she said.

Sotto said Thursday that Poe is expected to announce in two weeks who his running mate will be. He added that an FPJ-Loren tandem is "okay."

"It’s a Loren, Loren and a Loren," Sotto said.

Aside from Legarda, other vice presidential hopefuls being considered by Poe is opposition Sen. Gregorio Honasan.

Legarda earlier said the Poe camp is the most aggressive group courting her to be his running mate in the 2004 national elections.

Legarda resigned from the ruling party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats Oct. 2, saying she cannot speak her mind without inviting criticism and intrigue since the party has its set of rules that members should follow.

She said her independence endowed her with the freedom to take an objective and firm stand on current issues without inviting criticism that she is disloyal to Lakas.

Legarda’s husband, former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste earlier said he has no objections to her running for vice president since he can muster the funds needed to launch an effective vice presidential campaign.

However, he said he does not want her to run for president because he does not have the P5 billion needed to fund a presidential campaign, and his wife will object to him raising the money from other sources.

Leviste, who now sits as chairman of the Philippine Leisure and Retirement Authority and the Board of Investments, said he hopes that Mrs. Arroyo will still draft his wife as her running mate.

Another possibility raised by Leviste is that his wife will retire from politics and be a full-time mother to their two sons because "it was what she has been telling me all along."