Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, three of the prominent aspirants for the 2010 presidential race, share common political backgrounds, qualities and a connection to the country's political "king-maker," according to analysts.

Gibo, Noynoy and Chiz are all young politicians enjoying support among the relatively huge voting force of the youth, former members of the House of Representatives, and belonging to the freshest batch of presidential wannabes, political analysts said.

On top of these commonalities is the relation of Gibo, Noynoy and Chiz to business tycoon Eduardo ”Danding” Cojuangco, who is known as a “king-maker” in Philippine politics, local university political science Prof. Bernard Santiago said.

Gibo and Noynoy are both nephews of the “king-maker,” while Chiz is a “loyal” member of the National People’s Coalition (NPC), which Danding has successfully nurtured as a political party worthy of reckoning in the nation’s decades of power play, Santiago noted.

Because of his link to the three presidential aspirants, Danding is reportedly facing a mixture of “comfort and discomfort,” enough reason why he opted to remain away from the political limelight by frequenting foreign travels nowadays, local NPC sources told the Bulletin.

Danding feels “comfort” because whoever wins among the three, he is assured of retaining the influence that has protected his big business interests for decades, the sources said.

At the same time, Danding faces “discomfort” in a dilemma on who among the three should get his “biggest chunk” of support in the election campaign, the sources added.

Gibo, Noynoy and Chiz also share similarities in having overwhelmed so far their respective party-mates in the race for anointment as standard bearers, Santiago said.

He said Gibo has overtaken Senator Dick Gordon and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, both administration officials who have long expressed desire for the presidency.