Ouster to spur Villar bid, says ally

MANILA, Philippines—Far from being discouraged, Senator Manuel Villar’s ouster from the Senate presidency will spur him even more to pursue the presidency, according to Villar ally Gilbert Remulla.

According to Remulla, the coup that ousted Villar and ensconced Senator Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate President, was engineered by some senators who were also eyeing the presidency.

It was primarily caused by Villar’s strong showing in the most recent surveys, said Remulla, spokesperson of Villar’s Nacionalista Party.

Vice President Noli de Castro, another close friend of Villar and a possible rival in the 2010 presidential race, said that although Villar might still be nursing his wounds, he should see a silver lining amidst the gloom of his ouster.

“Now he has a lot of time to campaign,” said a chuckling De Castro.

While still in the Senate, De Castro was part of the chamber’s exclusive Wednesday Group that included Villar, and Senators Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan and Ralph Recto, who is now the socio-economic planning secretary.

While Villar has announced his plans to run for President, De Castro, who is reportedly being considered to be the administration’s standard-bearer in 2010, has not made any mention of his inclination.

Both have consistently enjoyed high ratings in the polls.

De Castro, who is reportedly being paired with Batangas Governor Vilma Santos as the vice presidential candidate, said he has not received any feelers from Malacañang or the ruling Lakas-CMD.

“We have not talked politics. Even the President isn’t talking politics. We are more focused on coming up with solutions to the global crisis. It won’t be good to talk politics in the face of such a crisis,” he told reporters in Malacañang where he spoke at the Carbon Cutting Congress vs Climate Change.

De Castro said he was not thinking about the time frame for declaring his interest in running for President.

“What’s important to me is the time to serve the people because we have barely two years to serve as Vice President,” he said.

He said he doubted that the Senate coup, reportedly instigated by Senators Loren Legarda, Manuel Roxas and Panfilo Lacson, was related to the 2010 presidential elections.

“Even when I was still part of the 12th Congress, there were coups. That’s nothing extraordinary. There’s no such thing as a permanent Senate President,” he said. inquirer.net