DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay believes President Aquino and the Liberal Party (LP) have decided on a standard bearer and are only waiting for the right time to make an announcement.
“A decision has been made. They are making people salivate over who it is,” Binay told The STAR at the 50th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines-Davao City chapter over the weekend.
The President is expected to endorse Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II this week.
However, Binay said the President’s endorsement, as the leader of the party, is not necessary.
He said the LP has the advantage compared to other political parties because it has the machinery and is part of the administration. “But we are prepared for them,” he said.
Binay has declared he is running for president under the United Nationalist Alliance coalition.
Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay denied that her father is having difficulty finding a running mate.
The senator said the search committee headed by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco is still sorting out prospective candidates.
She refused to comment on reports that Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is among those being considered for the post.
“All the names are a possibility at this point in time… they are going through the criteria, the qualification of this person compared to this other person. So these are the things that Congressman Toby is looking at,” she said.
She said there is no rush for the Vice President to choose his runningmate because the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) is in October yet.
She said former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada chose her father as his running mate in the 2010 elections three weeks before the filing of COCs.
Marcos earlier said he had not spoken with the Vice President about the 2016 elections since last month.
Flattered
Marcos said he was flattered by reports that he is among those being considered as Binay’s running mate.
However, he noted that his decision on whether to run for a national post needs to be consulted with his party, the Nacionalista.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III said the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) would soon meet to discuss the party’s plans for 2016.
Sotto said there is still no party decision on whether to support the tandem of Sens. Grace Poe and Francis Escudero, which several NPC members are supporting. – With Marvin Sy