Aquino names Mar of the hour

Filipino dream

“My dream is no different from the dream of every Filipino. I wish for the Filipino people only what I would wish for myself. After all, who are we if not our dreams?” he said.

“Who would not want a life with dignity and comfort? That you have something to eat when you’re hungry and your life will be better if you work hard,” he added.

Under Mr. Aquino’s leadership, Roxas said the government proved that it could attend to the people’s needs and fulfill its mandate.

“It’s professional, not transactional. No lucky strokes, only systematic fulfillment of our dreams,” he said. “It’s a government [that serves only] our bosses who give us the mandate and strength.”

He added: “This is what we have started on [the straight path. The President] allowed us to imagine again what the Filipino is capable of… We are a serious people who are serious with our dreams, who have just had a taste of what serious, selfless leadership can achieve.”

Roxas also lauded Mr. Aquino for the sacrifices he had made for the country, recalling the difficult times he faced in 2009 when various sectors were trying to convince him to run for President in 2010.

In one of their conversations, Roxas said he remembered the President telling him that he could not abandon the calls for him to pursue what his parents had started.

Debt to the people

“I owe the Filipino [people] as much and I owe as much to you, Mr. President. I have never met a President who sacrificed so much for the country,” he said.

“I have never met a President who has been able to inspire so much confidence. You showed us how to live by the principles we believed in and show us what we could do with our political will… and by sticking with the truth no matter how strong our enemy is,” he added.

Roxas said the straight path principle was “never about me or the President” and that it was the embodiment of the aspirations of every Filipino.

“As what the President said, it is worth fighting for. It is worth sacrificing for and dying for if need be. The straight path transcends me and [the President]; it is a Filipino ideal that has been there long before we were born, and will remain long after we are gone,” he said.

Roxas then promised not to abandon the straight path principle, saying: “I will give my all. I will not leave anything for myself. I will leave everything on the floor for this fight.”

‘Good taste’

“The President has good taste, that I can tell you,” Sanchez told reporters after the event.

“We never talked about it because every time we looked at each other’s eyes, we knew that the President would pick the right person. And we knew that Mar deserved [his support],” she said.

Continuity

“The first six years under the Aquino administration were really to make sure the road was straight. But now we make sure the boat has no holes,” said Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, the LP chair in the Bicol region.

“Everyone in the boat now must push the boat in the right direction. Of course, what Mr. Aquino did was the most difficult part. But now, we need to keep the boat going, and that involves a platform of government focusing on inclusive social policy and infrastructure,” he said.

Definitely, he said, the LP “will bank on the President.”

He said the mistake of former US Vice President Al Gore, who lost the presidency to George W. Bush in 2000, was when he tried to distance himself from outgoing President Bill Clinton.

“He thought that if he distanced himself, the problems [associated with Clinton] will disappear,” Salceda said, adding that Gore should have realized that he could not “dissociate” himself from the Clinton administration.

“But Mar has always been part of the Aquino team. He’s part of the team,” he said.

Nomination bounce

Salceda predicted a “nomination bounce” or spike for Roxas’ polling numbers now that President Aquino had endorsed him as his chosen successor.

He said an internal poll commissioned by the LP showed that Roxas had a 13-percent share of the hypothetical vote if the elections were held today.

“With the anointment of the President, there will be a spike, toward the 20s. That will make us very competitive” with the front-runners Sen. Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay,” Salceda said.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Roxas now needed to consolidate his political base, by “running after” the members of the coalition formed under the Aquino banner.

READ: Roxas a ‘very misunderstood guy’ – Belmonte

He said Roxas should “smile more,” look less serious in order to help the masses relate to him as a candidate.

“I’m very confident of him. Without question, he’s the most qualified. He has experience and integrity,” Belmonte said.

Roxas just needs to “improve his PR,” he said. “He’s lacking in that department. He looks too serious,” he added.