Roxas to be ‘anointed’ by Aquino today

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

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III  will anoint Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II on Friday morning as the standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) for the 2016 presidential elections.

After months of speculation, the President himself will put an end to all questions. According to a Malacañang media advisory, he will endorse Roxas at historic Club Filipino in San Juan City, where Aquino proclaimed his intention to run for the presidency in 2009.

Roxas had earlier said that if Aquino “passes the ball to me, I will not only dribble it; I will dunk it.” He said he will aim for the continuation of the administration’s “tuwid na daan” (straight path).

READ: President set to pick Roxas as his successor

Club Filipino has been a witness to significant events in the lives of the Aquino family. It was in the same hall where the late Corazon “Cory” Aquino was sworn in as the country’s leader in February 1986. In 2009, Roxas announced at Club Filipino that he would abandon his presidential ambitions to give way to Senator Aquino.

Expected to attend the event are LP stalwarts Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice and Samar Representative and LP secretary general Mel Senen Sarmiento. All LP members have been very vocal in their support for Roxas as the official candidate of the party.

Roxas on Wednesday night went to the graves of his grandfather former President Manuel Roxas, his father former Senator Gerardo “Gerry” Roxas and his brother Gerardo Manuel “Dinggoy” Roxas.

Roxas’ grandfather founded the Liberal Party in 1946 while his father stood as president of the party.

READ: Aquino close to endorsing Roxas as his anointed

Aquino’s series of meetings with national figures Senators Grace Poe and Francis “Chiz” Escudero had triggered speculation that the President might change his mind and endorse Poe as LP’s presidential bet. Both senators confirmed that Aquino had asked them to keep their coalition intact during the elections.

Poe has been consistently ranking high in electoral surveys. Roxas has lagged behind Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay, whose ratings however have started to decline after being linked to several corruption issues.

But in June, Aquino promised that he would announce his successor after his last State of the Nation Address.

Poe has not yet declared her intention to run for higher office in 2016 although both she and Escudero are said to have considered the idea of teaming up and running as independent candidates.

READ: Poe: I won’t be surprised if Aquino endorses Roxas

In previous interviews, Roxas consistently avoided giving direct answers to questions about his presidential bid. Instead, Roxas would only say he’s willing to take on the challenge of preserving and continuing Aquino’ straight path.

Roxas, as Department of Interior and Local Government chief (DILG), was behind the Philippine National Police’s anti-crime strategy “Oplan Lambat-Sibat.” The crime-fighting program led to a 50-percent decrease of crimes in Metro Manila.

Also under his leadership, Roxas pushed for the signing of Executive Order 183 creating the Negros Island Region, separating Negros Occidental from Western Visayas and Negros Oriental from Central Visayas.

But in January, Roxas and Aquino’s relationship was tested when the Interior Secretary, who was supposed to be informed of major police operations, was kept out of the loop during the planning of “Oplan Exodus.” The covert mission that targeted Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir or Marwan, however, went awry and led to a bloody gun battle between Special Action Force policemen and armed Moro rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. As a result, 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, 16 Moro rebels and three civilians died.

The deadly incident was branded a “massacre” in the report of a Senate committee led by Poe. The committee also tagged the President as “ultimately responsible” for the Mamasapano incident.

Before he led the DILG, Roxas was transportation and communications secretary. He also served a six-year term as senator after holding office as secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry in the administrations of Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The 58-year-old secretary comes from the wealthy Araneta family and the Roxas political clan. He married TV broadcaster Korina Sanchez in 2009 and has a son, Paolo Gerardo, from a previous relationship. KS