MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang reiterated yesterday that campaigning strongly for the candidacy of administration bets Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo is part of President Aquino’s mandate because he wants to make sure that good governance will continue.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told state-run dzRB that Aquino “firmly believes” he has a “responsibility” in making sure his reform agenda will be followed by the next administration.
Last month, the Palace official also defended Aquino’s campaign for the LP tandem in the vote-rich province almost on a daily basis, saying that campaigning is an important part of the mandate, functions and “duty” of the Chief Executive.
The left-wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan recently called on Aquino to focus his remaining two months on ensuring that the impact of El Niño is mitigated instead of pushing for the candidacy of Roxas. The LP standard-bearer has been lagging behind in the surveys.
However, Coloma assured the general public that Aquino is doing his job. In fact, the President has been meeting with heads of local government units on programs related to the extended dry spell.
“President Aquino is actively campaigning for the candidates of the Daang Matuwid (straight path) coalition because he believes it is his duty to our bosses – the Filipino people – to ensure the continuity of good governance,” the press secretary said last March.
Coloma issued the statement following calls from administration ally Sen. Francis Escudero, who is running for vice president in the May 9 polls, for Aquino to “focus” more on governance rather than politics.
In holding presidential events-cum-campaign sorties in the provinces, Coloma said that Aquino only wants continuity, since this is very “essential to attain inclusive growth for future generations of Filipinos.”
While Roxas is no longer secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, observers noticed that government resources have been used in his campaign, notably the red-plated vehicles of the local government units.
Coloma nevertheless assured the public that Aquino himself wants clean, credible and peaceful elections just like everybody else, and that he simply wants to remind the electorate that the best team is that of Roxas and Robredo.
Aquino has been a constant presence in the campaign since it started on Feb. 8. He even delivered withering criticisms against Roxas’ fiercest rival Vice President Jejomar Binay, his runningmate Sen. Gringo Honasan and opposition Sen. Bongbong Marcos.