Manila Times/Makati

Liberal Party (LP) stalwarts led by President Benigno Aquino 3rd and members of the cabinet will fly to Naga City (Camarines Sur) tomorrow in “full force” to convince representative Leni Robredo to be the running mate of interior secretary Manuel Mar Roxas 2nd, a well-placed source said yesterday.
The source added that Aquino and Roxas’ group will make the “final push” to get Robredo to run for vice president next year after the supposed breakdown of talks with senator Grace Poe and Batangas governor Vilma Santos-Recto.
“They tried Poe, [they got] busted. Then Santos, but she was not interested. They are now placing their last card on Robredo. We can expect an announcement there or soon after,” the source said.
“If the president will fly to Naga City, then that’s it. Ask palace officials,” he added.
Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda confirmed that Aquino will be flying to Naga to attend the commemoration of the third death anniversary of Jesse Robredo, husband of representative Robredo.
The former Interior secretary died in a plane crash in 2012.
When asked if LP leaders have made up their minds on representative Robredo to run with Roxas to form the “Ro-Ro” tandem, Lacierda, however, gave a vague response.
“Its all up in the air,” he said.
“The purpose for going there is for the president and Jesse’s fellow cabinet secretaries to commemorate his death anniversary. How it is viewed by others is entirely up to their interpretation,” the palace official added.
But according to The Manila Times source, the LP has given up hope on Poe agreeing to their terms and run with Roxas.
He said Roxas has to find a running mate before the next results of the polls are made public.
“They are growing desperate to find a running mate. The tandem must be announced before the third quarter survey,” the source added.
By all indications, Poe is determined to run for president, alongside her fellow senator, Francis Escudero, as her vice presidential running mate.
Big political parties and political groups such as the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) prefer Poe over Roxas and vowed majority support for the senator’s candidacy once she decided to run.
On the other hand, Robredo, who represents Camarines Sur at the House of Representatives, is yet to make up her mind in seeking higher elective office, saying she is more focused on seeking reelection.
But the legislator said she keeps an “open mind” about the LP offer.
Several civil society groups and various personalities led by the Kaya Natin Movement last week launched the ‘’Leni Robredo for Vice President Movement’’ at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.
In a previous interview, Robredo said she talked to Roxas about a month ago regarding the 2016 polls but the discussion revolved around her possible Senate run.
Besides Poe, Santos-Recto and Robredo, the LP was also eyeing Sen. Alan Cayetano of the Nacionalista Party as Roxas’ possible running mate.
The 200,000-strong Federation of Free Workers (FFW) over the weekend said it is considering to throw its support behind the presidential bid of vice president Jejomar Binay or Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte because the two officials are “pro-labour.”
Sony Matula, FFW president, said both Binay and Duterte had been lawyers for workers long before they served the government.
Matula added that Binay was a labour lawyer before he became officer-in-charge of Makati City in 1986 and its elected mayor the following year.
Binay’s concern with workers continued when he was appointed by president Benigno Aquino 3rd as adviser on overseas Filipino workers affairs in 2010, he said.
The FFW president added that Duterte lawyered for workers during the Marcos presidency.
Thus, Matula said, among the presidential wannabes Binay and Duterte could be considered as pro-labour.
He pointed out that while mayors of Davao City and Makati City, Duterte and Binay, respectively, had clear social programmes for their respective constituents.
Binay and Duterte being pro-labour, however, was disputed by former congressman Renato Magtubo, saying that lawyering for the workers during specific periods does not automatically mean Binay and Duterte are pro-labour.
Magtubo, now national chairman of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), noted that “being pro-labour [government officials] should be measured by consistent acts of promoting and defending workers’ rights and welfare, [and] not for being a lawyer once for [the] labour[ers]”.
When asked if his statement means that PM will not support the presidential bid of Binay or Duterte, Magtubo replied “So far, [we have no] decision [yet].”
The FFW also still has no official position on who to support in the presidential derby.
Matula said while they recognise the experience of both Binay and Duterte as lawyers fr workers in the past, it does mean that the labour group will support any of the two.
According to him, the FFW National Council first has to conduct a thorough study and evaluation on Binay and Duterte specially that both of them are carrying negative issues.
For example, he said, Binay has been accused of graft and corruption by his detractors.
Duterte, according to Matula, is being accused of human rights violations.
“We are still searching. We need a president with executive background that can deliver [the labour sector’s] dream. Not a NATO [no action but talk only leader] executive. A president with fire in his belly, to make a difference for the working people. Trade unionists will look for that character in a leader. If Binay, Duterte or another [contender for President] can project that, he or she will be our preference for President,” Matula explained to The Manila Times.