Villar, TV evangelist list up as bets for president

Two contenders for the presidency in the 2010 elections and their vice presidential and senatorial candidates filed their candidacy with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, the eve of the deadline.
Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr., who filed his candidacy together with his running mate, Sen. Loren Legarda, said that his Nacionalista Party was the only one that represented all sectors of society, including environmentalists, overseas Filipino workers, laborers, soldiers and Muslims.

Religious leader Brother Eddie Villanueva of Jesus is Lord Movement, who filed his candidacy along with his five senatorial bets, said that his group is a nontraditional political party, whose members “don’t have an iota or trace of corruption in them.”

Villar’s senatorial candidates are Sen. Pia Cayetano, Susan “Toots” Ople, lawyer Gwen Pimentel, lawyer Adel Tamano, former military Col. Ariel Querubin, Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte, Ramon “Monmon” Mitra 3rd and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (a guest candidate).

Villanueva filed his candidacy together with his vice presidential candidate, lawyer Perfecto Yasay, also a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and his senatorial candidates—former GMA 7 reporter Alex Tinsay, former ABS-CBN anchor Kata Inocencio, lawyer Ramon Ocampo of Iglesia ni Cristo, Dr. Israel Virgines of the Seventh Day Adventist and Dr. Noldi Alonto from the Muslim community.
He said that they would run under the Bangon Pilipinas party, the same party that fielded him as its standard-bearer in the 2004 elections. He lost to now President Gloria Arroyo.

More to file today

Today, another wannabe with an eye on Malacañang—Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal—is expected to file her candidacy as an independent presidential candidate.

Also on Monday, she rejected an invitation from the Liberal Party to run for reelection.
Another presidential aspirant—former Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)—was still undecided if he would file his candidacy for president.

A source said that Fernando has agreed to be the vice presidential candidate of Sen. Richard Gordon under the Bagumbayan Movement. But Fernando said that he has yet to make his final decision on the matter.

Courting the Left

Villar said that they still hope to get as Nacionalista senatorial candidates, Rep. Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna party-list and Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela party-list, who filed their candidacy ahead of Villar’s group.

Ocampo and Maza were said to have abandoned talks with Villar’s party for their inclusion in the party’s senatorial ticket because of the presence in the line-up of Marcos, the only son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Still, Nacionalista spokesman and former Rep. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite said that they were “reserving” the last two senatorial slots for Ocampo and Maza.

Stars in Quezon City

Also filing their candidacy on Monday for various posts in Metro Manila were a movie star, a son of the country’s gaming chief, two incumbent vice mayors and two incumbent mayors.

Actress Ara Mina, Hazel Reyes in real life, who filed her candidacy before the Comelec office at Quezon City Hall, told The Manila Times that she would be running as an independent candidate.

Lawyer Erwin Genuino and his running mate, actress Jobelle Salvador, filed their candidacy for mayor and vice mayor of Makati City under the Bigkis Pinoy party.

Makati’s incumbent Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and his candidates for councilors filed their certificates of candidacy under the Nacionalista Party.

Running for mayor but without a vice mayoralty candidate, Mercado reportedly would team up with lawyer Chito Salud.

He is seeking to replace Mayor Jejomar Binay, the vice presidential candidate of former President Joseph Estrada.

QC and Manila

Estrada’s son and the incumbent mayor of San Juan City (Metro Manila, Joseph Victor Ejercito, led the filing of candidacy of local officials.

His mother and former actress Guia Gomez also filed her candidacy for mayor of San Juan City, with Francis Zamora as his running mate.

In filing their candidacy also on Monday, incumbent Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and the city’s incumbent vice mayor, Isko Moreno, vowed a new “revolution” in Manila if they would be given another chance to lead the city.

A revolution for good governance, that is, was what they promised Manileños as they filed their certificates of candidacy on the occasion of the 146th birth anniversary of revolutionary hero and Manila native Andres Bonifacio.

Lim and Moreno, before marching to the Comelec office in Manila’s Intramuros district, led the commemoration of the birthday of the city’s most famous local hero at the Bonifacio Shrine at nearby Bonifacio Plaza.

They took pride that they were born and raised in Manila’s Tondo district, just like Bonifacio.
Among the candidates for Congress who accompanied Lim and Moreno were Joey Hizon, Rodolfo Bacani and Atong Asilo.

Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Efren L. Danao, Cris G. Odronia, Jun Marcos, Francis Earl A. Cueto and Rommel C. Lontayao