From humble beginnings as a radio broadcaster, Vice President Noli de Castro is quietly preparing for the possibility of succeeding embattled President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amid growing calls for an orderly constitutional transition.
De Castro was celebrating his 56th birthday with his wife in Hong Kong this week when Arroyo summoned him back as a month-long crisis over allegations that she rigged last year's ballot took a dramatic turn Thursday with rumors of looming defections among her Cabinet members. Ten quit Friday, accusing Arroyo of losing the ability to govern, and urged the nation to unite behind de Castro.
De Castro could be treading in his boss' footsteps. Arroyo, vice president at the time, took over in January 2001 when President Joseph Estrada was toppled in a "people power" revolt on corruption charges. Last May, she won her own six-year mandate.
De Castro, a quiet, unassuming journalist-turned-politician, has worked in Arroyo's shadow, rarely taking the spotlight. With vice president a largely ceremonial post, he is chairman of the housing and urban council and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers.
While some Arroyo allies expressed support for her amid snowballing calls for her resignation, de Castro only supported the constitution. After former President Corazon Aquino called on erstwhile ally Arroyo to "make the supreme sacrifice of resigning," de Castro said Friday: "We should accord due deference and serious thought to President Cory Aquino's call to rally behind the constitution."
Arroyo took issue with Aquino, saying her actions "caused deep and grievous harm to the nation because they undermine our democratic principles and the very foundation of our constitution."
"We should respect President Cory's call. I only wish to remind everyone that the exercise of our democratic rights must be made within the bounds of the constitution and the rule of law," de Castro said after earlier suggesting Arroyo should be given time to weigh her options.
He also thanked former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who led the mass Cabinet resignations, for supporting him as the constitutional successor. The opposition was divided over de Castro.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who finished third in last year's election, said he would support him. But Susan Roces, the outspoken widow of runner-up Fernando Poe Jr. -- who died of a stroke in December without conceding defeat -- said opposition vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda should take over.
Some in the opposition believe that if Arroyo cheated, then running mate de Castro was also tainted.
De Castro has been portraying himself as a regular guy, an outsider who grew up without the privileges of the wealthy, ruling political dynasties. He once said he was "gathering pig's fodder from our neighbors for my pet pig, which I would raise in order to be sold later for a hefty sum."
He began his career as a broadcaster during Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship, and after his 1986 ouster, joined ABS-CBN radio and television, where he got his break as host of a popular evening TV show. He earned the nickname "Kabayan" (countryman) for his broadcasts in native Tagalog.
In 2001, de Castro won a senate seat as an independent, though he campaigned with the opposition.
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