President Benigno S. Aquino III administers the oath of office to Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery former Senator Panfilo Lacson in a ceremony at the President’s Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday (December 10, 2013). The “rehabilitation czar” is the man in charge to oversee the overall efforts being undertaken by the national government in reconstructing the areas destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas region (MNS Photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday said he will once again try his luck for the presidency next year if he gets a double-digit rating in the next survey.
“Hindi ako magdi-declare nang wala akong pinaghuhugutan,” said Lacson, who got a 1 percent preference in the last presidential survey, at a forum in Manila.
Lacson expects the next survey to come out in late June. He said he will decide accordingly before the start of the filing of candidacy in October.
Lacson, a ranking police official before entering politics, first ran for president in 2004 but lost to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
At the forum, Lacson admitted that he was going around the country to promote his platform called “Equality in Budget Distribution,” where he promises a P12-million yearly development fund to all barangays once he is elected to Malacañang.
Lacson also owned up to some TV and radio commercials, as well as posters to boost his exposure. He said his donors paid for them.
Lacson said President Benigno Aquino III has asked him three times regarding his plan for next year, but he said he did not commit anything.
He also said he had asked the President what keeps him from endorsing Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, but Aquino reportedly did not give an answer.
Lacson also said an endorsement from Aquino will greatly benefit the chosen candidate, although he said he will not ask for it.
Regarding his possible opponents in 2016, Lacson said he sees Roxas as “a problem analyzer, not a problem solver,” Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is embroiled in corruption allegations, as “having too many problems to solve,” Senator Grace Poe as “inexperienced but qualified,” and former President and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada as “localized.”
Of the four, only Binay has expressed his intention to run for president in the 2016 elections.
The leader of the group pushing for Lacson to seek the presidency, retired Col. Mariano Santiago, said during the forum that they are pushing for a Ping-Poe tandem in 2016.
Lacson, however, said there is no formal talks with yet with Poe, who is performing well in various presidential surveys.
Lacson says if he doesn’t run for president, he will most likely go back to the Senate where his chance of winning is higher.(MNS)