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By Harvey S. Keh The past three weeks we have all been witness to the rebirth of hope and change in our country brought about by the recent declaration of Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s that he will indeed continue the fight left behind by his parents and make a run for the Presidency this coming 2010 elections. The reaction of the Filipino people to Aquino’s candidacy has been nothing short of overwhelming as evidenced by the banner story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today which states that according to an SWS Survey conducted in the vote-rich areas of Luzon, 50% of Filipinos would vote for Aquino while the former top-notcher Senator Manny Villar is a far distant second at only 14%. This momentum for unity, reform and change has also been fueled no doubt by the personal sacrifices made by Senator Mar Roxas, Governor Eddie Panlilio, Governor Grace Padaca and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. Roxas, Panlilio and Padaca all said that they will no longer pursue their bids for the highest position in the land while Pangilinan has clearly stated that he will also forego his bid for the Vice-Presidency to support an Aquino-Roxas ticket. So what is next for these four selfless public servants? As we all know, Aquino has categorically said that he wants Roxas to be his running mate in the 2010 elections which I think is a very good decision given the deep relationship and trust that these two gentlemen have for each other. Let us remember that the position of Vice-President is very important given that s/he will just be a heartbeat away from being our next President. Thus, it is imperative that Aquino choose someone whom he believes can become a good leader for our country. Roxas also comes from the vote-rich Western Visayas region which will definitely help Aquino who in turn comes as well from another vote-rich region, Central Luzon. Panlilio is still deciding whether to continue to pursue politics or go back to the priesthood. His main focus right now is to ensure that the on-going recount filed against him by his opponents will not prosper thus, his group Kapampangan Kontra sa Recount together with Kaya Natin and Kilos Na are currently asking for support from friends and supporters towards raising funds to pay the revisors at COMELEC and continue to protect the integrity of the result of the last 2007 elections. If Panlilio decides to pursue politics, he has told us that he is eyeing a Senate run under the Aquino ticket or another run for Governor against current Vice-Governor Yeng Guiao and Senator Lito Lapid. For Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, who, aside from being a co-founder of Kaya Natin, is also a stalwart of the Liberal Party (LP), she is currently being eyed by LP to be one of their Senatoriables together with former Senate President Franklin Drilon, Rep. Ruffy Biazon and former Rep. Neric Acosta. The dilemma that Padaca is currently faced with is that she can still run for one more term as Governor and the clamor for her to stay in the province continues to grow. In our last conversation, Padaca remains open to running for the Senate but said that she will continue to consult her supporters before she makes a final decision on her plans for 2010. Padaca together with former Senate President Jovito Salonga and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo are all LP leaders who were awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service (acknowledged as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Asia). For his part, Pangilinan is currently active in helping push the Presidential bid of Aquino. He together with Panlilio, Sonia Roco, Jim Paredes and Bam Aquino are the initial convenors of the movement, Pilipinas para kay Noynoy (PINOY) which brings together multi-sectoral reform organizations towards supporting the Presidential run of Aquino. Assuming that an Aquino-Roxas team-up will materialize, Pangilinan is also rumored to be a possible candidate for Mayor of Quezon City where he once served as a City Councilor. Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com ____________________________________________________________ Harvey S. Keh is Director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo School of Government.