PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2010: Gibo-Puno team-up getting hot

RONNIE PUNO FOR VICE PRESIDENT BACKED BY ADMIN, OPPOSITION

By ROGER M. BALANZA

Both administration and opposition leaders welcomed Ronnie Puno’s entry in the 2010 political race, with most of them saying that he would be a valuable asset to any presidential bet he would choose to run with.

          In media interviews, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada described Puno as a “formidable candidate for vice president,” while Sen, Juan Miguel Zubiri noted that the DILG chief would be a “big asset” to the administration ticket “kahit sino pa sa mga nangungunang kandidato bilang president ng Malacañang ang maka-tandem nito (whoever he teams up with from among Malacañang’s leading candidates for president.)

But Puno may find himself having rivals for the vice presidential slot if Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro gets the Lakas-Kampi-CMD nomination to be the standard bearer.

GIBO-PUNO DREAM TEAM

Teodoro has publicly announced his bid for the presidency, and like Puno, earned much attention as a potential bet when he also attended the Lakas-Kampi-CMD caucus.

Under the scenario he would be fighting for the post both MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando and de Castro, who would be expected to slide down to the number two post if they lose their bid to be the standard bearer to Teodoro.

Teodoro himself had welcomed Puno’s entry in the 2010 race, saying that a Gibo-Ronnie ticket would be a “very strong” combination for the country.

Teodoro, with whom Puno had a chance to work closely with at the height of the Sulu hostage crisis, noted that being a public servant “throughout his professional life” will allow the DILG secretary to make greater contributions to the country—and makes him the most qualified vice presidential candidate in the 2010 polls.

NOGIE FOR PUNO

Speaker Prospero Nograles, who is now Puno’s co-vice chairman in the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, said that he would personally support Puno as the unified party’s vice presidential bet in 2010.

Even staunch anti-administration critic, former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda, could not help but praise Puno’s decision, which he described in one of his columns as “a smart move.” 

Puno has declared his availability for the vice presidential slot during a party caucus, where party mates “nominated” him. But Puno shot down the excitement over his announcement by saying he would not preemp the party from making the final decision on the party slate.

Puno’s declaration was actually preceded by the unanimous approval of several resolutions by the Kampi National Council, including the one committing the party to abide by, and support, the unified Lakas-Kampi CMD choice and selection of national candidates in the May 2010 elections.

This resolution was the reason why Puno asked his party mates to refrain from formally endorsing him as Kampi’s vice-presidential candidate because, as he had emphasized, they have to honor this commitment to abide by the final decision of Lakas-Kampi-CMD and support whoever becomes its chosen national candidates.

LIKE A GOOD SOLDIER 

Puno had stressed that he would submit himself to the nomination process of the merged Lakas-KAMPI CMD and “like a good soldier,” abide by whatever decision is reached by the unified party and would support whoever is chosen as its vice-presidential candidate. He, however, was quick to add:  “But I will work very hard to get the nomination.”

Ronnie Puno has stressed in various news forums that he would like to bring his brand of political maturity to the forthcoming 2010 polls by refraining from petty, personal attacks against whoever his opponents will be.

He mused that during elections, those who have aspired for elective positions either believe that they have won or were cheated. “Either ikaw ay nanalo o kaya dinaya,” said Puno in saying he will try to change this kind of attitude by accepting defeat graciously and being the first to congratulate his opponent if he loses.

Kampi, which entered into the merger as a co-equal partner of Lakas, certainly has the right to ask, if not demand, that the vice presidential bet of the consolidated pro-administration party come from its ranks.

POWERHOUSE

Kampi has the political strength and numbers to make this endorsement, bringing into its merger with Lakas the political pull and prestige of two senators, 54 members of the House of Representatives, 17 governors, 24 city mayors, 469 municipal mayors and countless other local elective officials all over the country. 

As Kampi chief prior to its merger with Lakas, Ronnie Puno has helped shepherd Kampi into one of the country’s dominant political parties whose fast-growing membership gives it a decisive role in the upcoming 2010 national elections.

Puno is certainly no lightweight when it comes to track record and experience both in government and the private sector.

STRATEGIST PAR EXCELLENCE

 Ronnie Puno may be known to most Filipinos as the country’s most successful and adroit political strategists—he was deeply involved in the presidential campaigns of Fidel Ramos in 1992, Joseph Estrada in 1998 and Gloria Arroyo in 2004—but he also has an impressive track record spanning over 35 years in the fields of business, media and public relations, diplomacy and public administration. 

Puno has deep roots planted in the DILG, which has supervision over the local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). 

He first served as Assistant Secretary and Head Executive Assistant at the Office of the Secretary in July 1974 when it was then known as the Department of Local Government and Community Development (DLGCD).  He also served as program director of the Barangay Brigades and chairman of the Performance Audit Team of the DLGCD. 

Puno was also a member of the Tripoli Technical Committee during the Philippines’ negotiations with Libya on the Muslim Mindanao issue in 1977.