Why Gibo Teodoro is seeking a political comeback
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 18) — After his failed presidential bid in 2010, former Defense chief Gibo Teodoro will attempt to make a political comeback, this time, as a senator.
But what made him pursue his senatorial bid for the 2022 polls? Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source on Monday, Teodoro recalled how the decision to re-enter public service came up in a conversation with his family as early as February this year.
"I think that's when the final decision within the family, my wife and our son talked about it, we agreed that it would be a go that I tried to make it back in public service," Teodoro shared. "Perhaps this is the best time that somebody who’s had both the government and private sector experience could be helpful to the country."
After losing to Benigno Aquino III in 2010, Teodoro stepped away from the political limelight and rendered his service to the private sector when he was elected to the Board of Directors of BDO Unibank, Inc., then chairing Sagittarius Mines, Inc. and Indophil Resources Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte offered him the defense secretary post in 2016, but he said he declined the offer to attend to his family and to focus on his private sector work at the time.
Teodoro said he now has a "compelling reason" to go back to politics after the pandemic hit the country.
"My family told me that ‘it's your duty to the country that you do so.’ And that decision came up and came from there but there were a lot of people who were asking since even before the pandemic, 'bumalik ka na' (come back), ‘why don't you give it another go’ but there was no compelling reason at the time," he said. "But after the pandemic, this I think is a compelling reason as you can have."
Teodoro said with his background, hopefully, he would be able "to introduce more efficiencies into the government and try to make things easier for the private sector and any citizen" as a senator.
"For any time that perhaps the country would need my services or the country would have the option should they wish to avail of my services and expertise...it's the right thing to do at the right time where there is no one person who probably has the monopoly of solutions, the wherewithal, the monopoly of skills needed to run the country but everybody should pitch in," he said.
Teodoro said he initially wanted to gun for the second highest national post, a plan which earlier fueled speculations that he would run in tandem with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. The mayor, however, stood firm on her decision to seek reelection instead of a national post.
Teodoro did not directly say whether this was his reason for settling for the legislative branch, but said that he and Mayor Duterte never talked about their political plans together. He added that joining the vice presidential race is already "very unlikely" at this time.
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Teodoro is currently the lone senatorial candidate of People's Reform Party. He said that other political parties have already sent him feelers to adopt him in their slate ahead of the polls.
