MANILA, Philippines - The head of the Philippines' defense establishment, who belongs to one of the country's most powerful clans, said on Tuesday he wants to become the next president, following in the footsteps of two of his predecessors.
But before throwing his hat in the ring Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro wants to secure the endorsement of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her dominant Lakas-Kampi coalition.
"The president's endorsement is very important, being my direct boss," said Teodoro, a nephew of former President Corazon Aquino and of Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, chairman of San Miguel Corp.
"That's the best way to go," Teodoro told Reuters at his office at the main army base in Manila.
"I have to really wait for the political process that will decide who will be the ruling party's standard-bearer in the next presidential election."
Elections will be held in May 2010 and several senators have already said they will contest. But it was the first time Teodoro has indicated he could also be a candidate.
He is also the first candidate to openly court Arroyo's support. Almost all others are keeping a safe distance from the president because of allegations of corruption in her regime and her dismal showings in popularity polls.
"If I run independently without the machinery and without the commitments, that's a 'La Mancha' type of scenario," Teodoro told Reuters, referring to the play about Don Quixote, whose dreams were out of touch with reality.
He said he was confident he would be endorsed by Arroyo and her party.
"They would not have not given me the job of secretary of national defense in the first place if they had not trusted me," he said.
His wife, who used to be a commercial model, took over his Congress seat when Arroyo appointed him as defense secretary in 2007.
The former lawyer and three-term congressman aims to duplicate the political careers of two former presidents -- Ramon Magsaysay and Fidel Ramos -- who rose to the top after successes in the defense department.
Magsaysay, the first defense chief to be elected Philippine president, succeeded in breaking the back of the agrarian-based Huk rebellion in the early 1950s.
Ramos, a bemedalled retired general, was hailed as a hero of a popular revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power in 1986. Six years later, he became the second defense chief to win the country's highest political post.
An air force colonel in the reserve force who flies light planes and keeps himself fit with daily shadow boxing, Teodoro is hoping his crackdown on Muslim and communist rebels will boost his image. He has been a vocal champion of more investment in defense.
For the election, he is also counting on the backing of his uncle Eduardo Cojuangco, who heads cash-rich San Miguel and is one of the wealthiest men in the country.
But Teodoro said he is "on leave" from his uncle's Nationalist People's Coalition. The group is allied with Arroyo, but some party members are among the president's staunch critics, including popular Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero, both of whom have also said they will run for president.
Teodoro shrugged off criticism about his low popularity.
"As far as I know, I am the only person who has spoken concretely about what we need in the future," he said.
"I have proven the capacity to stop corruption within the organization. I have the leadership to make things work and I have the vision forward. (Manny Mogato, Reuters)
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