Interior Secretary Mar Roxas INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
For the ruling Liberal Party (LP), Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is the Philippines’ best hope for lifting millions of poor citizens out of poverty because he will pursue and sustain the reforms introduced by the current administration.
But the question is: Can he win?
Speaking at a forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines and the ING Bank on Wednesday, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, one of the LP leaders, said the outcome of next year’s presidential election could keep the country moving forward if the nation’s new chief executive officer would stick to the reform program.
Abad said Roxas was the man for the job. The problem, however, is convincing the rest of the country that Roxas can govern, he said.
“We believe he has the integrity and competence to lead this country… Certainly Secretary Roxas has those qualities,” Abad said.
“The basic question raised against him is can he win,” he added.