MANILA, Philippines?Senator Ramon ?Bong? Revilla Jr. would like to run for vice president in the next elections?if the members of his political party would let him.

?I feel that I will be more effective as an executive [official] than as a lawmaker. I?m not a lawyer. I?m an action man,? Revilla told Inquirer Entertainment in a gathering in Quezon City on Tuesday night. ?But it?s too early to tell. A lot of things can happen between now and 2010.?

Revilla said some party-mates of his in Lakas-CMD have been pushing for him to run for VP, but he said his decision would depend on what ?the people? want. ?If Filipinos want me to run for senator again, that will be fine, too. I could also choose not to run for any office. I?m young; I can wait for the right time.?

First crack

He ran for vice governor of Cavite in 1995, with former NBI director Epimaco Velasco as running mate. In February 1998, Velasco resigned as governor and the actor-politician took over. He won for the same position in the polls held shortly after.

In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed him as chair of the Videogram Regulatory Board (now Optical Media Board). In 2003, for his effort to curb media piracy in the country, he was cited by the Motion Picture Association.

Revilla ran for senator under the K-4 Coalition in 2004, and won with the second highest number of votes. ?I never imagined I?d go this far in politics,? he said.

Lani worried

Revilla?s wife, actress Lani Mercado, expressed apprehensions about her husband?s chances at winning in the VP race. ?I told him it?s easy for him to win a seat in the Senate again because voters get to pick 12 names. But for VP, only one is chosen,? she explained. ?Were studying all the options.?

Mercado said she has long prepared for the task of campaigning for her husband. ?We did it in 2004. Our opponents could throw mud at us just to get ahead, but we?re ready for anything,? she said.

Prepared

Asked what projects she would likely focus on as vice president?s wife, Lani said she hoped to carry on with her ?Clean and Green? program, something she started when Bong was Cavite governor. ?I also hope to spearhead projects on education, nutrition and family planning. These are also my concerns as a wife and mother,? she said.

In the end, Lani said, everything would still depend on her husband. ?I pray that whatever path he decides to take would be for the good of many.?

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph