Padilla said Angara and Sotto are preventing movie star and presidential aspirant Fernando Poe Jr. from meeting with Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who was nominated LDP standard bearer by a faction of the opposition party last week.
"What we heard is that Senator Angara and Senator Sotto are preventing Poe from meeting with Lacson, knowing that Poe would give way to Lacson if they would be given a chance to settle their rivalry as gentlemen," Padilla said.
He said the matter of who should be the opposition standard bearer in the presidential race next year should be settled between Poe and Lacson and is not for Angara or Sotto to decide unilaterally.
Padilla said it is evident that Poe was forced by Angara and Sotto to declare his intention to run for president, even if Poe is averse to politics. He added that Angara and Sotto pushed Poe to declare a bid for the presidency to push forward the senators’ own political ambitions.
The chances of Poe giving way to Lacson, Padilla said, are very strong, since Lacson already has a platform, party and machinery.
Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico, of the LDP faction that supports Lacson, said it is obvious Angara wants to be the power behind a Poe presidency by using Poe as a puppet.
"Edong Angara wants to be president by proxy," Suplico said. "He (thinks) he can dictate to (Poe), but he’s wrong. (Poe) is his own man."
Manila Rep. Harry Angping, of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), said the unification meeting must push through or the opposition would be doomed.
Angping said Lacson and Poe must realize the country’s need for a change in administration is of paramount importance — over and above their individual concerns.
"They are two gentlemen of the highest order, both able to recognize the necessity of the moment and give it primacy over any other consideration," he said.
"They have to meet soon and the administration is already quivering on its heels about the possibilities of such a meeting," Angping said.
Meanwhile, an Arroyo-Roco tandem would signal the start of an economic boom in the country, said Albay Rep. Joey Salceda of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
A team-up between President Arroyo and her former education secretary Raul Roco, Salceda said "would be the best tandem for victory and the country" and will "spark a bull-run in our ever-sensitive stock market."
This tandem, he added, would be welcomed warmly by the foreign and local business sectors.
Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, Lakas-CMD party whip for Mindanao, said an Arroyo-Roco tandem is also the aim of the Liberal Party (LP).
"Everything can be worked out by January if both sides will talk it out," Nograles said. "Politics is addition. Their merger will do well for the (administration) coalition."
Roco earlier reiterated his intent to run for the presidency and said he will not accept a merger to run as Mrs. Arroyo’s running mate.
This statement by Roco has drawn the ire of some administration congressmen, who called on Roco to rise above his personal ambition and urged him to reconsider his decision to reject the offer to run as the President’s running mate.
In a joint statement, Reps. Exequiel Javier of Antique, Augusto Syjuco of Iloilo, Aurelio Umali of Nueva Ecija and Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado of Bulacan continued to push for an Arroyo-Roco administration ticket come 2004.
"(Roco) should not be overconfident about winning because a lot of things can happen in the next five months," Javier said.
According to him, the President is the candidate to beat because of her good governance, work ethic and vision for the country. "No one among the presidential hopefuls is more prepared than the President. This is the reality."
Syjuco said Roco’s rejection of an Arroyo-Roco tandem is an act of arrogance. "He should be willing to do public service in whatever role or position under a capable president," Syjuco said of Roco.
He added that the latest surveys have shown that Roco’s ratings have begun to drop, as he was overtaken by Poe, while the President’s ratings are rising.
"The ratings foretell a defeat for (Roco). He should not underestimate the capability of the President in the polls because of her track record in topping electoral contests," said Syjuco.
Umali said Roco’s threat to storm Malacañang if he does not win has disappointed the people, who expected him to act like a true statesman. "Sadly, (Roco) self-destructed even before the polls were held."
Alvarado said Roco’s outright rejection of a proposed Arroyo-Roco ticket shows that Roco "believes he can win when his qualifications pale in comparison with (those) of the President."