Palace: Don’t pooh-pooh Aquino power

Don’t underestimate President Aquino’s “endorsement power,” Malacañang said on Sunday.

Commenting on Sen. Sergio Osmena III’s statement on Saturday that Aquino’s endorsement would have a “negligible effect” on the poll ratings of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President’s high approval ratings indicated the value of his endorsement.

“Actually, P-Noy stands in a unique place among the presidents because this is the first time that you see a president nearing the end of his term maintaining a high approval rating,” Lacierda said.

“A cursory look at the surveys—starting from President Cory Aquino up to P-Noy in the same period of their administrations—would reveal that unlike the others, P-Noy has maintained his high approval numbers,” Lacierda said.

“So this is frontier territory and there is the distinct probability that conventional wisdom as espoused by Senator Osmeña may be shattered,” he said.

Roxas, officially the standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party for next year’s elections, is lagging in the presidential surveys.

In the latest Social Weather Stations poll, Roxas is in third place, behind Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe.

In the latest Pulse Asia poll, Roxas is in fourth place, behind Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Binay and Poe.

Speaking in a radio interview on Saturday, Osmeña said that Roxas had always been associated with President Aquino and this could already have been factored in in the survey results, so Aquino’s endorsement would not significantly improve Roxas’ numbers.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma disagreed, also citing President Aquino’s high ratings.

“[F]or the past five years, the President has consistently earned high trust ratings from our bosses (the Filipino people) and he is confident that they support the continuity of reforms, and the election of a successor who is a tried and tested implementer of the policies of the ‘straight path,’” Coloma said.

“This is the basis for his endorsement of the candidacy of Secretary Roxas,” he added.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said President Aquino’s call for continuity of his reform program resonated with the people.

“This is also what will carry P-Noy’s anointed one, Mar Roxas, to the presidency in 2016,” Abad said.

Like the Palace, LP leaders said Roxas’ ratings would improve after President Aquino’s endorsement of his candidacy.

But Osmeña said a presidential endorsement had done little for any candidate.

“It doesn’t change the dynamics. If Roxas’ ratings will rise, they will rise regardless of whether P-Noy endorses him or not,” Osmeña said.

“All of P-Noy’s people are with Roxas. So that has been seen in the surveys. P-Noy has never endorsed any other candidate except Mar Roxas. So his numbers won’t change. If anything, it would be by only 1 or 2 percent,” he said.

He agreed, however, that Roxas’ numbers could rise depending on how he campaigns.

The camp of Roxas is reportedly drawing up a campaign strategy that his supporters hope will shatter the public perception that he is elitist or a snob.

His choice of a vice presidential running mate would play a key role in the grassroots campaign to bring him closer to the masses, as in 2004 when he topped the senatorial election as “Mr. Palengke,” Yacap party-list Rep. Carol Lopez said on Saturday.