By Christian V. Esguerra Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 19:13:00 09/24/2009
Filed Under: Politics<http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=Politics&id=300&imp=> MANILA, Philippines -- The campaign to convince Batangas Governor Vilma Santos to run for vice president is “catching fire” and already, a party-mate sees her as the Philippine version of Sarah Palin. “But with substance and intelligence,” Prospero Pichay, a vice president of the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, pointed out. Pichay noted similarities between Santos and the former Republican vice presidential bet in the United States, even as another party was also considering Santos to run under its banner. Santos, a multi-awarded actress-turned-politician, has been included on the list of possible running-mates for the Nacionalista Party’s standard-bearer, Senator Manuel Villar, according to a party official. She caught the attention of the NP owing to her vast popularity and track record in local government, the official said. “Her name has persistently come up on the list, but there have been no formal discussions yet,” he told the Inquirer, but asked not to be identified by name because he was not authorized to speak on the matter. Santos’ husband, former Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto, is a close friend of Villar. They both belonged to the so-called “Wednesday Group” of senators. Pichay said he has been receiving more and more calls from party members, reporting the preference of local leaders to have Santos as a vice presidential candidate. “It’s catching fire and if it becomes a wildfire, we’ll send a delegation to Vilma. We will have to talk,” he told the Inquirer. The party was apparently insistent despite Santos’ repeated announcement that she was more keen on running for reelection in Batangas. Santos is a member of the original Lakas party that merged with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) last May. “Those who say that they’re not interested are the ones who win,” Pichay said. Like Palin, Santos would be a fresh face in national politics should she accede to requests to join the administration’s selection process, according to Pichay. Palin and Santos share the track record of having been city mayors before moving on to become governors. Palin served as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, before winning the gubernatorial race in 2006. Santos began her political career as Lipa mayor then became Batangas governor. But the comparison stops there, according to Pichay. While Palin lost her vice presidential bid in last year’s US elections, he said, Santos would have greater chances of winning her own battle here in the Philippines. “She’s intelligent, and that is the difference,” Pichay said. “She has a good public image, the media like her, and she has the experience.” Palin was known to have unraveled early in her campaign when she fumbled in one media interview after another. She later became the stuff of political jokes making fun of her seeming inadequacy to handle issues outside of her state Alaska. Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno had an “edge” in the race for the Lakas-Kampi vice presidential nomination. He noted that Puno had been “endorsed” in the party’s national executive committee meeting last week. But he said the choice of Puno -- and of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as standard-bearer -- was not yet final until ratified in a party convention. “This is (still) anybody’s game,” he said in a media briefing. -- spanx' blog: http://spankyenriquez.blogspot.com/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gimik" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gimik?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
