SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that he is open to teaming up with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte even if he has entered into a “loose coalition” with Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Marcos issued the statement following the admission of Senator Aquilino Pimentel 3rd, president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), that the party is considering him to be Duterte’s running mate.
Pimentel said there are some members of PDP-Laban who want Marcos to be Duterte’s vice presidential candidate.
“If somebody supports me, why will I turn that down? Of course not. I will always welcome anyone’s support,” said Marcos, who is running as an independent.
The senator admitted that he and Duterte have discussed several issues, including politics.
“So I will be talking to him again and ask him what his plans are,” Marcos added.
“This election has turned out to be unique and there are many, shall we say, arrangements that are not traditional. So, we will have to find and make our own way with Senator Miriam to define exactly what our coalition will be,” he added.
Duterte on Saturday announced that he will be joining the presidential race because of the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) junking the disqualification case filed against Senator Grace Poe.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, one of those who convinced Duterte to run for president, is also hoping to be chosen as the mayor’s running mate.
Duterte has until December 10 to file his certificate of candidacy as a substitute candidate of PDP-Laban replacing Martin Dino, who recently withdrew as standard bearer of the party.
In a separate interview, Pimentel confirmed that there are members of his party who are for Marcos but there are also others who want to support Senator Francis Escuero, Rep. Leni Robredo and also Cayetano.
Asked it is possible for the party to support the Deterte-Marcos tandem, Pimentel said that all combinations are possible but the Duterte-Cayetano combination is the most preferred in the PDP-Laban.
JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA