Aquino expected to endorse Roxas after last Sona—Drilon

President Benigno Aquino III (left) and Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

President Benigno Aquino III is expected to announce his endorsement of Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II after his last State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 27 and before July 31, Senate President Frank Drilon said on Tuesday.

“People are expecting the President to endorse Secretary Mar Roxas and I think it’s a belief entertained by many sectors,” the Senate leader said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel’s “Beyond Politics.”

READ: Aquino close to endorsing Roxas as his anointed

He said he expects Roxas to declare his presidential bid shortly after Aquino’s endorsement and immediately resign as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

“Yes and I would expect him to already leave his post after that, so that you know, he becomes a candidate and it becomes untenable for him to continue holding the post as Secretary of interior and Local Government,” he said.

After the President’s endorsement, Drilon said, the LP will no longer hold a convention since Roxas was the only member who “expressed his intent to present himself.”

“Wala na (None anymore). In LP, only Secretary Mar has expressed his intent to present himself, so there is no sense in having a convention anymore,” he said.

The Senate leader also explained the perceived delay in the President’s endorsement, saying the latter had to consolidate first the administration’s coalition.

READ: LP united; 2016 talks on schedule — Belmonte, Drilon

“The President would want to preserve this coalition, and all this time, he is trying to consolidate allies of the government and his supporters – and also consulting. You know, this takes a process,” he further said.

This explained why, he said, the President held a series of meetings with Senator Grace Poe, who topped the latest presidential survey conducted by Pulse Asia. Poe ran and won a Senate seat for the first time in 2013 under the LP led-coalition.

READ: Aquino, Grace Poe meet again

But Drilon assured that the LP would be “united” behind Roxas should he decide to run for president next year.

“I do not see a split down the road. The LP is united behind Secretary Roxas. I can assure you, there will be no split down the road,” he said.

He also assured that the administration party would have a complete slate “from the President down to the last councilor of the last fifth- class municipality.”