President Benigno Aquino III said that his endorsement of Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II last July 31 does not spell the end of his support to the administration coalition’s presidential bet.
Aquino said that being the President of the country does not prevent him from taking an active role in Roxas’ presidential campaign.
“Ang dating ng mga kritiko, dapat ‘wag ako mangampanya. So ‘pag Presidente ka ng Republika, dapat wala ka nang opinyon? On the one hand, may inendorso ka pero bahala ka na sa buhay mo? Parang napakamalamya naman noong sinasabi na may magpapatuloy (ng nasimulan natin),” Aquino told reporters on Monday.
(What these critics are saying is that I should not campaign. So if you’re the President, does that mean that you don’t have an opinion? On the one hand, you endorsed someone but you’ll later abandon him? It seems that I am not firm on having a successor to continue everything we have started.)
He also belied claims that the government will funnel funds for Roxas’ campaign kitty.
“Have we ever done that? Bago mag-akusa, meron ba kaming tradisyon na ginagawang ganoon? (Have we ever done that? Before they accuse, they should see first if we have a tradition of doing such),” he said.
Aquino added that they are not using government projects such as the Conditional Cash Transfer and PhilHealth for its campaign. AU