Statement on Presidential Aspirations

Lest I be accused of starting the 2010 presidential campaign this early, I want to clarify what I said in my interview over dzBB last Sunday and which the Philippine Star, Malaya, Daily Tribune and Abante quite alertly reported on in its issue today.

I made no declaration about my candidacy in 2010; I only responded to questions fielded to me about the possibility of my running for the highest office within the gift of our people.

I said I would be lying if I did not admit to being interested in the office. I have heard for years the appeals of many who were urging me to run, and their whispers have been louder of late.

I fully respect the decisions of others who have already announced or hinted at their running for the Presidency. I wish them well.

With respect to party alignments, there are some whose strategy is to anchor their bids on the revival of the old political parties. In my case, if and when I run for President, I will look not to the past but to the future.

I will try to mold a popular party coalition for national modernization and renewal from the many new parties that have emerged over the past decade. I want to address the hopes of all those who want to make the Philippines a better place and a more progressive nation.

But that said, I want to emphasize that my priorities now are my work in the Senate, the Philippine Red Cross, and the various advocacies that I support.

In the Senate, many issues and problems of great national import await the deliberation and decision of our senators. I too feel the weight of this responsibility, and I will put the greater part of my time to filling it. All talk about the future must yield to the needs of the present.