Binay eyes Poe as running mate

Vice President Jejomar Binay is eyeing Sen. Grace Poe as his running mate in next year’s presidential election, Binay daughter Makati Rep. Abigail Binay said yesterday.

“A Binay-Poe team-up is most ideal,” she told ABS-CBN News Channel.

However, Binay said she does not know if her father has talked to the daugh- ter of the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.

President Aquino has met with Poe apparently to convince her to be the vice presidential running mate of Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, who is widely believed to be the administration presidential candidate in next year’s elections.

When asked if her father was also considering Sen. Francis Escudero, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Darlene Berberabe, who heads Pag-IBIG Fund, Binay said a Binay-Escudero tandem “is a possibility” while a Binay-Estrada combination would be “difficult” to form.

Estrada “has to overcome his issues,” she said, obviously referring to the plunder and graft cases the senator is facing before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly misusing his pork barrel allocations.

In Berberabe’s case, Binay said, “I don’t think she is interested.”

The Vice President earlier said he was considering his Pag-IBIG Fund chief as his running mate.

Binay said she would accept any person her father would choose as his teammate except Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the Senate critics of the Vice President.

She said she would campaign against Trillanes in next year’s elections.