Loren primed for the vice-presidency

MANILA, Philippines - Nationalist People's Coalition vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda believes she can win the May 10 election.

The candidate, who is accused of being a political butterfly, is now being castigated for partnering with Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manny Villar despite voting for Villar's removal as Senate president due to the C-5 controversy.

Legarda says her partnership with Villar is a function of their similarities. She says Villar came "from the slums of Tondo. I come from the floods of Malabon.”

A Ten Outstanding Young Men and Women (TOYM) awardee, Legarda studied in the exclusive Assumption College from primary to high school. As a former news anchor, Legarda is known by insiders for demanding touch-ups of her face, neck and under her eyes in video post-production. She also once required a hand model in a political ad.

All these, however, are unimportant to her. What is important, she says, in what is perhaps one of Storyline’s coldest and most rigid interviews, is that the public sees her as a candidate that is sincere and genuine.

Loren hints at dropping 2010 political ambitions

Amid the spate of declarations from prospective presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the past weeks, Senator Loren Legarda on Monday dropped hints of foregoing whatever political plans she has in 2010 and instead, focus on her humanitarian works.

"Mas mabuti pa siguro ang hindi kakandidato. Mas magandang wag nang tumakbo at kung ano ang gagastusin sa pagtakbo ay gamitin na lang sa humaniratian help, siguro ganun. Wag na lang tumakbo," Legarda told reporters Monday.

(I think it’s better not to run anymore and instead use your campaign funds to finance humanitarian works.)

Legarda issued her statement as the country reels from the effects of tropical storm "Ondoy," which struck Luzon over the weekend.

In dropping hints that she may abandon her political plans for next year's polls, Legarda believes that politics and campaigning get in the way of governance.

"Kasi pag kampanya anim na buwan yan na-immobilized ka, lahat ng iyong resources ay nasa posters at television ads at pangangamay ng tao. Nakakain ba nila yun? Hindi. Kaya pinag-iisip isipan ko rin," Legarda said.

She added: "Really it’s dawning upon me because ano ba naman yung power, ano ba naman yung posisyon? Ang gusto mo talaga ay maglingkod e, kung yun talaga ang pakay mo. I don’t need to be famous anymore because I’m already famous. I don’t need to prove anything anymore. I’m thinking about it because really what I want to do is humanitarian help."

The senator said it bothers her to spend millions of money for advertisement and at the same time seeing people who badly need help.

"In such a poor country that is disaster stricken it’s so unconscionable to be spending so much on campaign and politics. It bothers me," Legarda said.

She also said that she is seeing the realities of life as against the dirty maneueverings in politics.

Legarda is one of two senators belonging to the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) who have been reported to be eyeing the presidency in the 2010 elections. The other is Francis Escudero.

In 2004, Legarda sought the vice presidency but lost to former ABS-CBN colleague Noli de Castro. In the 2007 polls, she won as senator, and will serve until 2013.