'Danding to support Chiz, Loren in 2010'

MANILA, Philippines - Billionaire businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. will support the presidential bid of Sen. Francis Escudero, Pangasinan Rep. Marcos Cojuangco, the businessman’s son, said yesterday.

“My dad and I will support the presidential ticket of our party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), and that ticket will be composed of Senators Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda,” he told a Quezon City news forum.

Rep. Cojuangco was asked whether he and his father would back the presidential bid of their cousins, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr.

There are speculations that Aquino and Teodoro being their blood relatives, the Cojuangcos would eventually shift their support to either of the two presidential aspirants.

Aquino is the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, while Teodoro is the ruling Lakas-Kampi’s presidential candidate.

Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino and Danding Cojuangco Jr., who heads San Miguel Corp., were first cousins, though they were on opposite sides of the political fence during the Marcos years.

On the other hand, Teodoro’s mother, former Tarlac congresswoman Merceditas Cojuangco Teodoro, is a sister of the San Miguel boss.

Rep. Cojuangco said he, his father and other NPC leaders and members cannot support his two relatives.

“They have their own aspirations and we have our own aspirations, which lie in the tandem of Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda,” he said.

He said the two would soon make an announcement on their partnership and their quest for the top offices of the land.

“I hope that there’s no storm that will abort that announcement,” he quipped.

Two successive weather disturbances, “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” have prevented Escudero from confirming what the public already knows – that he is running for president in the May 2010 elections. 

Meanwhile, Escudero shrugged off reports yesterday that Danding Cojuangco is now inclined to support the presidential bid of Aquino.

The talks of Cojuangco’s possible change of mind came amid rumors that Escudero may not continue with his presidential plans.

Legarda, for her part, remained mum on her plans as she said that she will run under “Luntiang Pilipinas” when asked if she will still stick with NPC amid talks that Cojuangco might endorse Noynoy’s bid.

Legarda is set to announce her electoral platform today at Luneta Park, where she will also hold a medical mission and job fair.

 Davao favorite

Aquino topped a survey commissioned by Davao City Mayor Roberto Duterte on presidential preferences, garnering 52 percent out of 6,000 respondents.

The survey results from Duterte’s office and which were relayed to the Liberal Party showed that Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. earned 10.59 percent; Escudero, 10.47 percent; former President Joseph Estrada, 10.12 percent; and Teodoro, 3.09 percent.

In another statement, Sen. Manuel Roxas II welcomed the support given him and Aquino by the influential Osmeña family of Cebu and Cebu City councilors.

The Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), a regional political party based in Cebu City and run by the Osmeñas, made the announcement following a recent meeting of its members at the Grand Convention Center in Cebu. – With Christina Mendez, Aurea Calica, Delon Porcalla