Sunday, December 21, 2008 Opposition: Choosing a standard bearer won't be easy By Justine Paredes
UNITED Opposition (UNO) spokesperson Adel Tamano said Saturday the process of selecting someone who will represent the opposition for the 2010 presidential election is very difficult.
"The pie of the administration is small, the opposition's is bigger... we have more candidates," Tamano said, adding that in surveys, they are essentially the same and there is still a grouping.
"Candidates are so close - by percentage points, then there are candidates who (rate) so low," he said.
According to him, politicians cannot be blamed for relying on these surveys because they invest so much in their campaigns.
Among the candidates mentioned were Senator Manny Villar, Senator Loren Legarda, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.
"The opposition should try to come up with one candidate or make the field small," he added, specifying that narrowing the choices down to two candidates would increase the opposition's chances exponentially.
Tamano predicted that for the first quarter, there will still be "posturing" and the political situation will be hazy. In June, things will be "clearer."
He said the common thing the opposition candidates are keen on preventing is Charter change, citing that in the interfaith rally last December 12 was attended by almost all opposition candidates.
