Jamby Madrigal declares she is running for President!

This blog said it first and said it best. Our GREAT SENATOR JAMBY MADRIGAL IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!

‘I’m running for presidency’—Jamby Madrigal

By Maila Ager

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 12:14:00 07/31/2009

Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal has announced she will join the 2010 presidential race as she vowed to “faithfully serve” the nation.

“Today I cross the Rubicon. I am certain in my decision to run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines,” Madrigal said at a press conference in Makati Friday.

She said her goal was to serve the nation faithfully.

"To those of you who may question my personal motives, I have none,” Madrigal said. “My only goal is simple—to faithfully serve you.”

She said she would file her certificate of candidacy on November 30.

“It’s time for the nation to recover,” Madrigal said, adding she had no intention to settle for a vice presidential candidacy.

But her declaration was immediately met with criticism by former congressman Gilbert Remulla, spokesman of the Nacionalista Party being headed by Senator Manny Villar.

"She now joins the ranks of Eddie Gil and Atty. Ely Pamatong in making Philippine elections a colorful democratic practice," Remulla said in a statement.

"Her declaration is also a vindication for Senator Manny Villar. We have said all along that the C-5 issue is politically motivated. The candidacy of Senator Madrigal confirms that," he said.

Madrigal simply shrugged it off.

"It’s okay. I’m not spoil sport,” she said.

Madrigal has filed an ethics case against Villar, a real estate magnate, for allegedly benefitting from the construction of the C-5 road extension project in Paranaque City.

At the press conference, Madrigal said she has reached the decision to run for president after a month-long break of Congress and during "the silence of my two-week retreat."

"This I do, not out of personal ambition but to share a vision that has been honed by my family's more than 100 years of service to the country," she said.

"Many have asked me to be an agent of change. Although I find this daunting, I now face the challenge squarely," she said.

Madrigal said she has the resources to run a campaign without being indebted to interest groups.

"My goal is selfless service, pure and simple. I will pay my debt only to the country. This country has given me so much and my gift to our people is to change their lives for the better," she said.

But Madrigal, member of Partido Demokratikong Pilipino, could not say yet under which party she would run and who would be his runningmate.