4 NP senators qualified to run for higher post – Villar

ILOILO, Philippines – Four members of the Nacionalista Party who are incumbent senators are qualified to run for higher office in the 2016 national elections, former senator and NP chairman Manny Villar said yesterday.

Villar refused to say who will be the party’s standard bearer in 2016, saying it is still too premature to talk about politics.

But he expressed belief that four NP members – Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Antonio Trillanes IV and his wife Cynthia Villar – are among the possible contenders in 2016.

Villar said they have not formally discussed who will be the NP’s presidential and vice presidential candidates in 2016.

Cayetano had openly declared his intention to run for the presidency. Marcos had been mentioned as among the possible contenders in the 2016 presidential race.

Villar said the NP has yet to decide whether it will pursue its coalition with the ruling Liberal Party.

“So many things have happened in the last eight months. It’s still two years from 2016 so it’s still too early,” he said.

Villar and his wife attended the Light of Peace event initiated by the Bangkok-based Middleway Meditation Institute at the Savannah City in this province on Monday night.

It was also in the same occasion that the Philippines made it to the Guinness World Records for the largest flaming image using candles.

The Philippines broke Pakistan’s record after about 100,000 participants were able to carry the torch for peace with 56,680 candles.