Aquino: I have no secret bet

President Benigno S. Aquino III (Photo by Joseph Vidal/Malacanang Photo Bureau)

LOS ANGELES—If he believes in a candidate, he will campaign for that bet openly, President Benigno Aquino III said on Wednesday as he denied speculations that he was secretly supporting someone else.

Mr. Aquino has endorsed the candidacies of Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate Leni Robredo, but rumors that he might be backing Sen. Grace Poe surfaced anew after she attended his birthday party recently.

READ: Aquino invited Grace Poe to his birthday party

“When have I not been trusted to keep my word? When have I shown something opposite to what I’ve said? That is my principle,” Mr. Aquino told reporters when asked about the issue.

He said he has no reason to hide his support for a candidate he likes.

“If I believe in that candidate, why would I keep that secret? I will campaign for that candidate. If I believe this is the best candidate, that would be my campaign,” he said.

He stressed that he was pushing for Roxas and Robredo, as well as the Liberal Party’s senatorial slate.

Explaining Poe’s presence at his birthday party at the Presidential Security Group compound, Mr. Aquino said the senator had sent him a birthday greeting via text message.

Birthday dinner

As far as he remembers, Poe was jokingly asking if she was invited to his birthday dinner.

“I told her, ‘if you are comfortable, of course you are invited,” he recalled.

Poe replied that she might not just show up because her presence might become an issue, then thanked him for considering her as a friend and inviting her. He then replied that they could see each other next time.

But Poe changed her mind and showed up at the party, he said. She stayed for just a few minutes, he added.

“In my view, I’d like to think she went there as a friend wanting to help me celebrate my birthday, OK,” he said.

Friends but with different views

Poe, one of the leading candidates for President, has also said that she has been friends with Mr. Aquino for long time and that even if they have different political views, they always respect each other.

Poe is running as an independent candidate. Her running mate is Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a close friend of Mr. Aquino.

President Aquino also continued to pitch for Roxas, who has been lagging behind his rivals in poll surveys.

He said what was needed was for voters to be reminded of Roxas’ track record in resolving problems in Zamboanga during the siege by rebels, as well as addressing the problems of Eastern Samar and Tacloban following the onslaught of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

Not promises, but track record

“It’s not promises, but his track record itself that would show that he has kept his word,” he said.

He also said the survey numbers of Roxas, who has yet to top any voter popularity survey, are on the upswing. Other candidates have big fluctuations in their numbers, he noted.

“So we can say that Mar has a solid base of support. Leni as well, for that matter,” he said.

He also believes their campaign has a good message, which is the continuation of the “Daang Matuwid. ”

The best campaigners for the administration’s bets are the people themselves who have benefited from its improved programs, he said.

There are a lot of them, he added.

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