Will Loren Legarda make Villar win?

Loren Legarda---an asset or a liability to Manny Villar?

Loren Legarda just agreed on a Manny Villar tandem and that’s an obvious one. Legarda needs all the money she can muster to defeat a formidable opponent in the name of Mar, who is not only a Roxas, but an Araneta. And what’s a Legarda compared with a candidate having both big haciendero clans rooting for a win?

Coffee habitues are wagging their tongues and telling every one how Danding Cojuangco gave Loren 200 million to fund her advertising and propaganda machines while Villar, the prodigious billionnaire throwing some millions more to make Legarda’s war chest reach 700 million pesos. Loren is being accused of political courtesan-ship, hurtful words if you ask me. In the dirty world of politics, those who know how to play the game always win. And Loren’s a veteran in this wheeling and dealing world. Yet some say, she owes Senator Ed Angara a lot for sealing that Villar deal.

The question really is—will the entry of Loren as VP benefit Manny Villar? Let’s analyze.

Loren’s mass base is good for about 10-12 million—if we base her pulling power during previous electoral exercises. She can claim that, safely. The question is—will those millions or even a fraction transfer to Villar?

Quite possibly, Villar will probably get some millions from Loren, assuming that those groups who supported Loren are still un-committed to a presidentiable. Remember that during the last two elections, Loren’s machinery depended on Erap’s and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). Her transfer to the Nacionalista does not guarantee that those two big machineries will also go with her.

Sources say, Loren’s grassroots organization is not as solid as it looks. In fact, commitments of organizers are somewhat interlocked in her case. Most of her organizers are committed to former president Joseph Estrada and with the re-building of the JEEP NI ERAP, a considerable number of organizers are surely not supportive of her. So, it is still fussy how she’ll be able to counter a stronger Mar Roxas machinery.

Loren is not an Erap. Erap’s political endorsement is infectious; its a sure winner. Loren has not been proven in this department. What Manny Villar needs is someone who can transfer some of the magic to his to be able to counter Noynoy or a Chiz Escudero.

And if you look, Loren shares the same constituency as Villar’s. Is that good? No. Villar can cover enough ground without Loren, if you look at it. Can Loren do the same thing? No, simply because Loren does not have the logistics of a Villar. So, who benefits from the tandem? It is no other than the political prostitute.