The presidential aspirant may go to court to question Lakas's selection of Gilbert Teodoro

More than defense chief Gilbert Teodoro, whose selection as standard bearer of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD was a foregone conclusion, MMDA chair Bayani "BF" Fernando was supposed to be the news Thursday. Political junkies were awaiting what he had to say a day after the executive committee of his party picked Teodoro over him to carry its banner for the 2010 elections.

Journalists therefore flocked to the weekly Daungan forum at the Danarra Hotel in Quezon City where BF was scheduled to appear. The forum organizer, the Liga ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas, had announced it in invitations days earlier.

To everybody's dismay, no Bayani Fernando came.

One of the organizers explained that a member of Fernando’s staff notified them Wednesday afternoon that BF wouldn't be showing up anymore. That was after Lakas-Kampi announced Teodoro as its presidential bet.

BF was reportedly preparing to question before the proper forum the legality of Teodoro's proclamation as Lakas-Kampi bet. BF, the staff was quoted as saying, want the Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional.

It wasn't clear if BF would be questioning the process by which the party chose Teodoro (he had wanted Lakas-Kampi's 10,000 members to be allowed to vote, not just the 64-man execom) or if he would file a case against the party for supposedly violating the ban on conventions and other activities related to the elections until October. (Lakas, though, made it clear that it wasn't holding a convention yet; it was just arriving at a recommendation that would be presented in a future convention.)

It wasn't clear either if the staff was referring not to the Supreme Court but the case filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by party co-founder Jose de Venecia Jr.. JDV wants the Comelec to declare invalid the merger of Lakas-Kampi because it supposedly violated Lakas's constitution and by-laws. The poll body was set to hear it Thursday but wasn't sure if it could render a decision immediately.

Newsbreak tried to talk to BF's staff, but her mobile phone was turned off. We also tried to reach BF at his MMDA office but he was in a meeting the whole time we were following up.

The Inside Track is Newsbreak's intelligencer section. It features the latest buzz on juicy political and business goings on. 

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