Roxas a ‘very misunderstood guy’ – Belmonte

INTERIOR Secretary Mar Roxas is a “very misunderstood guy” who should court Senator Grace Poe for Vice President in 2016 if he wants to improve his chances of winning, a Liberal Party (LP) official said Wednesday.

In an interview with reporters, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Roxas’ chances of winning will greatly improve if he snags neophyte senator Poe as his running mate.

Belmonte, an LP vice chair, said Roxas is misjudged by the public and that he might have won the vice presidency in 2010 if Jejomar Binay did not enter the race.

He said Roxas had been taking the offense against then vice presidential rival Senator Loren Legarda until Binay got in the picture and clinched the position.

“Mar Roxas is a very misunderstood guy. He had it in the bag in the last elections, but he got so complacent; he was coasting along, nag-aaway sila ni Loren (Legarda) oblivious to the fact that there’s a third candidate while they are quarrelling each other,” Belmonte said.

Roxas was a short-lived presidential candidate in 2010 when he gave way to then Senator Benigno Aquino III who was swept to the presidency following the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

Asked if Roxas can win the presidency without Poe, Belmonte said: “If he has to do it, he will have to.”

“It will be more difficult (if he runs without Grace Poe), but I think he can,” he added.

“But I think he should court Grace Poe. Court her! I think they would have the greatest combination there is,” Belmonte said.

Poe herself confirmed Wednesday that Roxas has approached her and asked if she could be his running mate.

The popularity of Roxas, within the LP at least, was such that some LP lawmakers held a press conference on Wednesday only to praise their bet for Aquino’s successor.

Quezon city Rep. Kit Belmonte claimed Roxas could win even without Poe.

This runs counter to his uncle Speaker Belmonte’s views that Roxas needed Poe for vice president, and the discord indicated a seeming rift within the LP over the possibility of a Roxas-Poe tandem.

“With or without Grace Poe, dapat ituloy niya ang pagtakbo as President,” said Rep. Belmonte.

Iloilo city Rep. Jerry Trenas, LP’s Visayas bloc deputy chair, brushed off Roxas’ poor ratings in surveys, saying a candidate’s popularity may change during the campaign period.

In the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) presidential survey, Poe saw her ranking improved from 21 percent to 31 percent, just five percentage points shy from Vice President Binay (36 percent from 37 percent) who remained in the lead. Roxas got a 15 percent of respondents, down from 19 percent.

Meanwhile, in the latest SWS vice presidential survey, Poe is the top pick with 26 percent of respondents, surpassing Roxas with 12 percent and Binay with seven percent.

Trenas said Roxas enjoyed high ratings in 2010 and yet he lost to the surprise winner Binay.

“The election in 2010 clearly shows that popularity rating is only as good in so far as the date of the survey was made… You do not discount any candidate who has low ratings in the survey. Many things happen during the campaign period,” Trenas said.

Davao Del Norte Rep. Anthony Del Rosario said Roxas deserved the presidency having served Cabinet positions in three administrations.

“He has served in several Cabinet positions under three presidents. I think that says a lot about Secretary Mar,” Del Rosario said of Roxas, who has served as congressman, senator, Trade Secretary and now Interior Secretary.