Noy eats, prays with Mar, Leni

MANILA, Philippines - With President Aquino seeing them off, Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo filed their certificates of candidacy yesterday at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros.

The occasion was far from being low-key – as promised earlier by LP leaders – with hundreds of supporters of Roxas and Robredo cheering them on as they made their way from the Manila Cathedral where they attended a 7:30 a.m. mass to Plaza Roma in front of the church to share breakfast consisting of rice porridge, puto or rice cake, sandwiches and water with supporters and kibitzers.

A lion and dragon dance performance outside the cathedral provided entertainment and supposedly good luck to the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid.

After breakfast, Aquino accompanied Roxas and Robredo up to the doorstep of the Comelec office at the Palacio del Gobernador where the two top LP bets filed their respective COCs. Some call their team-up RoRo, short for Roxas and Robredo.

With Roxas were his wife broadcaster Korina Sanchez and his mother Judy Araneta-Roxas, while Robredo was with her daughters Aika, Tricia and Jillian.

“Leni and I are confident that our countrymen will choose the right people in the 2016 election. We fought for the straight path, which is not about personalities, a tandem or a party. It is about the dream of every Filipino family,” Roxas said.

“We will give our all in this battle. This is a fight that is worth fighting for, a fight for our people, a fight to make sure that the dreams of each Filipino family will come true,” he said in Filipino.

Robredo, meanwhile, said she does not mind being just the second choice of Roxas. The administration coalition tried but failed to convince Sen. Grace Poe to run for vice president under the administration party. Poe would later opt to run for president as an independent candidate.

“Actually, it is still a privilege and honor to be even considered for this post. We all know that those who have been considered have been preparing for a national post for a very long time,” Robredo told ABS-CBN News Channel.

When asked how she intends to beat her more experienced rivals, Robredo said: “I am fully aware of the fact that among the contenders, I am the least known. I haven’t gone through any national election yet. I don’t have experience running a national campaign. I don’t have resources and I don’t have anything. I will just double my efforts.”  

Unexpected presence

Aquino’s presence came as a surprise as there was no mention of him accompanying Roxas and Robredo in media advisories issued the day before.

Administration coalition spokesman and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said Aquino’s presence reflected his commitment to his straight path policy.

“He (Aquino) wants to show that there is no doubt that he will campaign for a successor that he believes will continue his daang matuwid (straight path) program. His presence here is unprecedented,” Quimbo said in an interview. 

“It is definitely a boost. He has the highest approval ratings and it will reflect well on secretary Mar and congresswoman Leni,” he added.

He expressed belief Aquino’s active participation in the campaign would not affect his performance as president.

“He recognizes the need to govern and at the same time undertake political activities. He has done that over the last six years,” Quimbo said.

“Only people will be able to judge whether it is correct or not, but history and experience will show that he manages it very well,” the lawmaker said.

“The President puts his foot where his mouth is. He makes a bet unequivocally on someone he believes in,” he added.

“He’s president first and a political person second – he’s very conscious of that,” he said.

Quimbo said Aquino is willing to stake his political capital to make his “successor triumph.”

“The reforms cannot be done by just one administration but at least three administrations,” he said.

Aside from rector Fr. Reginald Malicdem greeting Aquino, members of the administration coalition did not receive special treatment during the mass.

Also at the mass were some 300 grade 1 and grade 2 students of the St. Joseph Children’s Center in Pasig City and their guardians, who said they were visiting the Manila Cathedral as part of the children’s field trip. They said they had no idea the President and some LP bets were coming.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista greeted and talked with Roxas’ mother Judy, who arrived at the Comelec minutes before her son.  

Bautista opted to stay with the crowd and did not go near Roxas when he filed his COC.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they were ensuring the orderliness of the filing process in justifying the unusually large number of poll security and employees when Roxas and Robredo filed their COCs.

58th and 12th

Roxas was the first candidate to file his COC yesterday but he was listed as the 58th presidential candidate to file.

Robredo was 12th in the list of aspirants for vice president. Her daughters took selfies with her in the background while she was filing her COC.

Clad in yellow shirt, former justice secretary Leila de Lima filed her COC accompanied by her mother and son. She was among the LP senatorial candidates who separately filed their COCs yesterday. 

LP senatorial bets Interior Assistant Secretary Mariman Ambolodto and Coop-Natco party-list Rep. Cresante Paez also filed their COCs one after the other.

Paez said he decided to run for senator “because we believe that the cooperative sector and other marginalized groups need a voice in the Senate.”

“In fact, the decision to run came from the sector itself. We have been waiting for the cooperative to be recognized and I think this is now the time for it, when ‘their Mr. Coop’ is elected to the senate,” Paez said, referring to himself.

For her part, Ambolodto said she is pushing for unity among Filipinos, regardless of their ethic and religious differences.

“We may come from different histories, beliefs and tribes but we live in the same country and there is no reason for us not to unite for a better future,” she added.   

Meanwhile, the so-called Visayas bloc of more than 40 congressmen is supporting the Roxas-Robredo tandem.

“The members of the group are solidly behind Mar and Leni and we are committed to work hard to ensure their victory in the Visayas region in next year’s elections,” Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas said in a statement. With Sheila, Crisostomo, Mayen Jaymalin, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Eva Visperas