Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metopolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is confident that he will be the standard bearer of the LakasKampi-CMD if Vice President Noli De Castro will not push thru with his candidacy as president.

"Lumalapit na iyong ika nga eh sa wakas baka makuha ko na iyang nominasyon na iyan. Sadyang atrasado na kami at nakakaapekto rin naman sa mga ratings namin iyan eh (My nomination as the party’s standard bearer is getting near. We have been behind schedule and it has been affecting our [survey] ratings)," Fernando said in a radio dzMM interview.

He was assuming that De Castro is out of the nomination race because he believed that the deadline of candidacy was July 30. But it was extended to September 15 according to Fernando.

“I am aware of the July 30 deadline, and it has already passed,” Fernando said, referring to the Lakas-Kampi-CMD’s earlier deadline for De Castro and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to officially join party.

According to Fernando, if De Castro is out of the picture he is confident that the party will choose him as the standard bearer because he said that there was an agreement that the one with the highest raing  in presidential survey will be the standard bearer.

In some surveys like the Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations, Teodoro is behind Fernando by 1%. Fernando is 8th in the latest Pulse Asia survey and was in 10th place in the SWS survey. In the said surveys Senator Manuel Villar and deposed president Estrada dominated.

Source