Former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. FILE PHOTO/Noy Morcoso, INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas II admitted on Wednesday that he does not have any other plan after losing in the senatorial race in the May 13 elections.
Roxas, who ran under the Otso Diretso slate, opted just to thank the people who helped him through his grueling campaign, which coincided with the birth of his newborn twins with wife and broadcaster Korina Sanchez.
“I don’t know what comes next,” Roxas said in a statement. “On behalf of my whole family, maraming maraming salamat sa tiwala, suporta at malasakit. I am so very humbled and honored to have been in the trenches and frontline with you all.”
“I want to thank you all, each and every one of you for all your hard work and support. But most of all, I want to thank you for believing – in me, in our values and principles, and in the idea that we as a people, and the Philippines, are and can be better than where we are, that our future is and can be brighter than our today,” he added.
After the National Board of Canvassers have accounted for all 167 certificates of canvass (COCs), Roxas found himself well outside of the Magic 12, ranking 16th overall with 9,843,288 votes.
None of the Otso Diretso candidates made it to the Top 12. Roxas is the second-highest ranked opposition candidate, after Senator Bam Aquino who was ranked 14th with 14,114,923 votes.
READ: Final, official count: Villar 1st, Binay 12th in Senate race
Roxas also apologized for the long silence, reasoning that he thought it was the best option as quick counts revealed their impending loss.