Short of this, however, Estrada may be forced to seek the presidency for himself in 2010, but said he will wait until the last quarter of the year to make that decision to run.

Estrada is believed to have, at the very least, a solid political base of about 30 percent that, in a race with four or five presidential contenders, would easily make him win the presidency hands down.

In a telephone interview with the Tribune yesterday, Estrada, who is vacationing in Baguio City, said that he is not actively seeking the presidency and really wants to see the political opposition uniting behind one single presidential bet.

He said that part of his New Year’s resolution is to concentrate on his efforts to unite the opposition into supporting only one candidate in 2010.

“That’s really what I want to see: A single standard bearer representing the political opposition. That’s the only way we can’t be cheated by this administration. It already happened in 2004 when the opposition split up. It would have been impossible to cheat Ronnie (Fernando Poe, Jr.) had he been the single opposition bet. As it was, he was cheated and by the millions in votes.”

He stressed that the very same thing will be repeated if the political opposition fails to unite behind a single presidential bet, which is the reason he is prepared, if all efforts at unity would not bear fruit, to make a run for the top seat.

There are at least six presidential aspirants within the opposition forces, namely Senators Manuel Villar, Manuel “Mar” Roxas, of the Nacionalista and Liberal Parties respectively, Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Loren Legarda, from the Nationalist People’s Coalition and Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson” along with Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

Reports however, had it that Villar, as well as Vice President Noli de Castro, is being eyed by the administration parties, Lakas and Kampi as their standard bearer, in a bid to unite the two administration parties, since a merger appears to be an impossibility.

Congressional sources, however told the Tribune that there may just be a team up of Villar and De Castro, with the Vice President seeking the same seat in 2010 under the administration banner.

De Castro belongs to the “Wednesday Club” which has as its members Villar, Senators Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan and National Economic Development Authority (Neda) chief Ralph Recto.

The Wednesday Club was formed in 2001 when all four of them, all congressmen, ran as adminis-tration senatorial bets and won, while De Castro, a radio-TV anchor, ran and under the banner of the opposition as senator. The four adopted him as their club member.

The anti-Estrada forces, as well as Malacañang, are said to fear Estrada’s run for the presidency in 2010, with them insisting that he is disqualified from seeking the presidency again as the Constitution bans one who has already served as president.

But others argue that the constitutional ban refers only to incumbent presidents seeking reelection.

The case of the former president, however, is unique in the sense that he served in the high seat for only to a little more than two and a half years, having been ousted from power through a power grab by then Vice President Gloria Arroyo, who not only served the rest of his term, but also sought the vote for the presidency in 2004.

The argument raised on this issue is that the vice president who had succeeded Estrada served for well over three and a half years and as sitting president, could still seek the presidency in 2004, while a deposed president, who served less than three years, cannot possibly be barred from running for the presidency, especially since he is not seeking a reelection, but another term of office after his ouster.

If Estrada makes a run for the presidency, the issue is certain to go to the Supreme Court for resolution.

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In her report in GMA News’ 24 Oras Thursday, Maki Pulido said the merger of Lakas and Kampi seems impossible to attain before 2010 elections. Instead, Arroyo allies are now working to have a common presidential candidate to make pro-administration coalition parties intact.

“Ang importante lang sa mga political parties na identified sa administration is to have a common candidate for 2010 elections, that way hindi magbi-break up ‘yan,” said Nograles, president of Lakas-CDM.

For his part, political analyst Mon Casiple predicted that political issues would heat up this year, with the issue on Charter change at the center of it.

“The scenario on Cha-cha will determine whether there will be presidential elections in 2010 or something else, plebiscite probably or elections for members of parliament,” Casiple explained.

Once the Cha-cha issue is over, Casiple said then the landscape and alliances of political parties would be known, adding that serious presidential contenders would dictate new political coalitions.

Among the so-called presidentiables, former Senate President Manny Villar and Sen Mar Roxas are leader of political parties. Villar is the president of Nacionalista Party, oldest political party in the country, while Roxas leads the Liberal Party.

Sens Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero are both members of the Nationalist Peoples Coalition founded by business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco.

Meanwhile, administration ally Vice President Noli De Castro remains to be an independent. – Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV