Senator Chiz Escudero, chair of the Joint Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures, conducts a hearing today on the report of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee on the status and direction of the economic, fiscal and monetary policies of the government. Also in photo is Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab.(MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Is Senator Francis Escudero still eyeing the presidency?
Escudero denied he is dead-set on gunning for the presidency and that he is using his closeness to Sen. Grace Poe to be a step closer to his dream.
Asked if he wants the presidency, he said: “I’m not even sure I want the vice-presidency. I will cross that bridge when I get there. I might not even reach that bridge. Let me cross this one first.”
Escudero also denied that he twice spurned former president Joseph Estrada’s offer to run as his vice-president.
He said there is no truth to reports he told Estrada in 2010: “It’s the presidency or nothing.”
“That’s not true. That even came out in a book somewhere. Hindi ko sinagot yon. Hindi ko bibigyan ng kawalan ng paggalang si dating pangulong Estrada sa pagbigay ng ganyang uri ng sagot. Naalala ko yang conversation na yan sa bahay niya at sa opisina, at ang sabi ko ay hindi pa ako tiyak at sigurado sa tatakbuhan ko o pagtakbo ko,” he said.
“Hindi bargas, hindi ko rin ugali yun,” he added.
He said that at the time of his conversation with Estrada, he and Sen. Loren Legarda had already been endorsed by the Nationalist People’s Coalition even though he had not made up his mind if he was running.
Escudero ended up not running for higher office in the 2010 polls but endorsed the candidacies of Benigno Aquino III and Jejomar Binay.
He said he is willing to meet with Estrada to clear things up. (MNS)