Not reelection under Grace-Chiz senatorial line-up
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he will no longer seek reelection as senator in 2016.
The son and namesake of the former president in an interview with Bombo Radyo on Monday night said he has been consulting “friends” about his plans to run for either President or Vice President in next year’s national elections.
Marcos, whose term expires next year, is allowed under the law to seek another term in the Senate. He placed 7th in the 2007 senatorial elections.
“Of course, talks have been going on. We’re also talking with the Nacionalista Party as well as other political parties and groups. But what I can say now is we’re not talking about reelection. What we’re talking about is the possibility of running for higher office and not for the Senate,” he said in Filipino.
Marcos’ statement was his reply when asked on whether he will run for a higher position and on what the real score is about his election plan in 2016.
But he was still coy on what “higher position” he was referring to, as he said he is still closely monitoring and analyzing election-related political developments leading to next year’s polls.
“We still need to see the line-up, who will be teaming up, who are allied with us and especially the parties involved because you don’t stand a chance if you don’t have the machinery, a solid machinery,” Marcos said.
His pronouncements dispelled speculations that he will be in the senatorial slate of the reported tandem of Senators Grace Poe and Francis ”Chiz” Escudero.
The Poe-Escudero team is reportedly trying to form a united senatorial ticket composed of candidates identified with both the opposition and the administration.
Aside from Marcos, among those floated as possible senatorial candidates are Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Valenzuela City (Metro Manila) Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Joel Villanueva, boxing champion and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and Sen. Vicente Sotto 3rd.
Escudero, however, denied the existence of such line-up as well as the supposed Poe-Escudero tandem, noting that they have not even decided if they will run for higher positions next year.
Poe, the pre-election frontrunner in both presidential and vice presidential surveys, is being wooed by the Liberal Party to run in tandem with its standard-bearer, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas 2nd.