INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - He may have been one of the earliest to announce his presidential ambition, but as far the real electoral battle is concerned Gilbert Teodoro has just begun.

No longer Defense secretary and chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council Teodoro, as a simple civilian, can now focus on campaigning, according to his wife Tarlac Representative Monica "Nikki" Prieto.

Teodoro was formally proclaimed standard bearer of the Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats on Thursday at the party's national convention at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

A new set of party executives were also announced who are expected to play key roles in Teodoro's campaign, including Saranggani Governor Miguel Dominguez, the new president, and Christian Democrat International vice chairman Francis Manglapus, the new secretary general.

In his speech, Teodoro called on his partymates to help him and runningmate actor Edu Manzano to achieve victory in the May 2010 election.

Towards the end of his speech, Teodoro left the podium and walked towards the stage and delivered an extemporaneous message about his platform, the economy and what he intends to do when he gets elected.

"That is the actual Gibo, before he was under a lot of stress, now, you see the real Gibo," Representative Teodoro said.

"Before he has to work so hard, so 100 percent so he couldn't give it all, now that he's already a civilian he's going to focus on his campaign," she added.

Playing down Teodoro's poor showing in the surveys, the congresswoman said the "Gibo of today" will be different from the Gilbert Teodoro that people came to know when he was still in government.

"He is the Gibo of today, this is the new Gibo for the campaign, that is the Gibo that the people has to know, the real Gibo, the human side of Gibo," she said.

Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros "Mitos" Magsaysay said she hopes party mates would be more aggresive in pushing for Teodoro's candidacy now that he has been officially proclaimed.

Magsaysay, who is also being touted, as one of Teodoro's spokespersons, said she also expects their standard-bearer's ratings to improve in the coming weeks.

Reggie Velasco, Lakas-Kampi-CMD deputy secretary general, said Teodoro and Manzano would embark on a pre-campaign trail in the administration's bailiwicks such as central Visayas, central Luzon and parts of Mindanao.

Velasco said the party will also commission its own presidential survey to know the real standing of their candidates.

Manglapus, son of Lakas founder Raul Manglapus, acknowledged that campaigning for Teodoro would be a "tough job" but said the party would stand pat on campaigning based on platform and programs.

"It's going to be a campaign on platform and programs, not on the rich versus the poor and definitely not a campaign of the good versus evil," he said in an interview.

"From day one you must be able to know exactly what to do and out of all the candidates out there, we think our candidate is the most qualified to lead this country," he added.

Manglapus said Teodoro is the type of leader who will stick to what he believes is right, even if not popular.

He said he hopes the voters would be able to see through Teodoro's "galing at talino (Ability and Intelligence)," his campaign pitch.

"We need someone who can turn around this country fast so you need someone with ability and intelligence to begin with. He is what he is, we're not gonna try to change him, what you see is what you get," said Manglapus.