ERAP BENT ON UNITING OPPOSITION BETS AND MAY RUN ONLY AS LAST OPTION

Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said he believes that former President Joseph Estrada is sincerely working to unite the presidential aspirants of the opposition behind a common candidate for the 2010 elections.

Pimentel said Estrada may opt to present himself as a presidential bet only as a last recourse if the unification talks fail which will make it difficult for the opposition to capture the presidency due to the immense resources at the disposal of the administration.

"Knowing Erap whose pragmatic mind is second to none, I think he wants the opposition aspirants to unite because, if fragmented, it would only facilitate the victory of the administration candidate," he said.

Pimentel said he met with Mr. Estrada on Dec. 24, 2007 and discussed with him legal matters that impact on his running again for the presidency.

"One is his pardon, it does not absolutely bar him from running again because it restores all his civil and political rights. The other is the Constitution. The one-term provision for presidents will surely be used by his political opponents to bar his running again. Will he overcome that or not? Only time will tell," he said.

The minority leader said Mr. Estrada, who remains very popular, will be a formidable presidential contender. But he said the administration can be expected to exhaust all legal means to block his candidacy, in the same manner that it tried to block Fernando Poe's presidential bid in 2004.

"Under the terms of his pardon, Erap may well crown himself like Caesar. As I told him last December 24, his critics won't let him do that because, as they have already threatened, they would invoke the Constitutional mandate of only one term for any president."