SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano has given up his plan to seek the highest office in the land and will instead run for vice president, but he has still not decided under which party.
Speaking in Bacolod City on Friday, Cayetano said he really wants to run under the Nacionalista Party, but three other NP members are entertaining the possibility of running for vice president and voter preference surveys reveal a poor showing in the presidential race.
In the recent Pulse Asia survey, for instance, Cayetano said he was only seventh among eight possible presidential candidates, garnering only 2 percent from 1,200 respondents nationwide.
Senator Grace Poe led the survey with 30 percent followed by the 22 percent of Vice President Jejomar Binay, whom Cayetano has severely criticized.
However, Cayetano said he is talking with other political parties about his bid to run for vice president and a political partnership based on programs and vision where he will not treated only as a “trophy.”
Cayetano has spoken favorably about the possible candidacy of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, but Duterte is also speaking with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., another NP member who is also considering a higher office.
Recently, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., a co-vice chairman of the Liberal Party, suggested that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas should get Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as his running mate.
But Roxas remained non-committal on Saturday and simply said “what will be, will be” when asked who he was planning to tap as running mate.
“Our role is to present a strong ticket that will continue the straight path. And that will be expected by our countrymen,” Roxas said, a day after LP co-vice chairman and Senate President Franklin Drilon said the party should start trying to persuade Poe to run with Roxas.
Once again, Roxas tried to evade journalists at a gathering of supporters of Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas after he was asked about public criticism of his role in the relief efforts for victims of super typhoon “Yolanda” in Iloilo City on Thursday.
Sought for his comment on the problems with regards to the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) to Yolanda victims, Roxas told a television reporter, “Well, whose agency is supposed to…”
When the reporter replied it is the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Roxas asked the reporter to recall what his agency is and abruptly left the reporters.