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Here’s Senator Francis Escudero’s takeaway from his four-hour meeting with President Aquino in Malacañang on Thursday: the chief executive is still finding it difficult to choose a candidate to support in 2016.
Although Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is widely expected to be the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party (LP), Escudero said his conversation with the President Aquino, a leading party figure, revealed otherwise.
“Nakapagdesisyon ka na ba? May napili ka na ba? (Have you decided yet? Have you chosen anyone?),” Escudero recalled asking the President.
“Wala pa. Kaya nga ako nakikipag-usap at nagkokonsulta (None yet. That’s why I’ve been holding discussions and consultations),” he quoted Aquino as saying.
The meeting was held at the President’s office initially with Escudero. Poe followed after an hour and a half, and Escudero said he was surprised she was also invited.
Escudero said it was clear the President has not picked whom to anoint despite assumptions it would be Roxas, who dropped his plan to run for president in 2010 to give way to Aquino. Roxas ran for vice president, but lost to Jejomar Binay.
“Maliwanag na nahihirapan siya sa desisyon na iniaatas sa kanya kaugnay ng pagpili (It is clear he is having a hard time coming up with a decision that is being expected of him),” Escudero told reporters on Friday.
According to Escudero, Aquino told him and Senator Grace Poe at the meeting that he wanted the coalition that backed him in 2010 to remain intact in next year’s elections, and for them to support a common candidate.
He also said the President did not give specifics, such as whether he would support Poe and Escudero should they both decide to run for higher positions in 2016.
“Ayaw kong pangunahan siya, at ayaw kong magsalita kaugnay sa direksyong tinatahak niya tungkol diyan (I do not want to second-guess him and speak about the direction he is taking when it comes to that),” Escudero said. “Suffice it to say, maganda ang naging usapan namin at komportable ang naging talakayan (we had a good talk and a comfortable discussion).”
It was Escudero’s first time to discuss the 2016 elections with the President, while it was the third time for Poe, whom the LP reportedly courted to be Roxas’s running mate.
Asked if he had the impression Aquino wanted him to give way to Roxas, Escudero said the President gave no such indication.
Escudero said he is open to having a meeting with Poe, Roxas, and President Aquino, which would likely take place before the President’s final State of the Nation Address (SONA). But he said he has no idea what they will talk about.
“Hindi ko alam. Basta ang inaasahan ko’y ulam (I don’t know. But I’m expecting there will be food),” Escudero quipped.
Although survey frontrunners, both Escudero and Poe have not made a decision about 2016.
Poe has said in past interviews that if she decides to seek higher office, she would be comfortable being paired of with her close friend Escudero.
Escudero said his meeting with President Aquino helped in his decision-making. He said he listens to Aquino not as the President, but as his friend.
“Syempre, sinumang may gagawing bagay na mabigat at desisyong pagpapasyahan, palaging tinitimbang at pinapakinggan ang kanyang malalapit na kaibigan (Of course, whoever has a big decision to make always weighs things and listens to his close friends),” he said.
Text: Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News
Photo: News clip
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
