Mar Roxas is flanked by wife Korina Sanchez and mother Judy Araneta Roxas during his filing of certificate of candidacy at the COMELEC , October 15. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Leaders of the Liberal Party (LP) on Friday acknowledged that the party’s presidential candidate, Mar Roxas, must step out of President Benigno Aquino III’s shadow once the campaign begins.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., an LP vice chair, said Roxas would need to stand on his own merits by playing to his own strengths as a candidate.
“He will have to do that at some point,” said Belmonte, the party’s general campaign manager for the 2016 elections.
P-Noy’s popularity
The LP-led administration coalition, however, will continue to bank on President Aquino’s popularity on the campaign trail, said Team Daang Matuwid spokesperson Barry Gutierrez, an Akbayan representative.
“He will be our No. 1 campaigner,” he said.
Mr. Aquino joined Roxas and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, the party’s candidate for Vice President, in filing their candidacy papers at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Intramuros, Manila, on Thursday.
Continuity
His presence nearly overshadowed the two candidates, as he was mobbed by reporters and LP supporters, some of whom took selfies with him.
Gutierrez said the focus on Mr. Aquino was understandable because the central theme of the entire campaign was the continuity of his administration’s reform program.
“But there are no fears in the party that [Roxas] will not be able to establish his own identity,” he said.
During the campaign, Roxas will emphasize his “unblemished track record” during his stints in Congress and in the Cabinet, Gutierrez said.
He said Roxas would also resurrect his “Mr. Palengke” persona, and remind voters about his role in the growth of the business process outsourcing industry.
Another coalition spokesperson, Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, said on Tuesday that Roxas’ underdog image would benefit him in the campaign against Sen. Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Poll rating
After trailing the two candidates for the better part of the year, Roxas moved up in the latest voter preference polls conducted by Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia, although still behind Poe, the front-runner.
The strong message of the coalition, Quimbo said, will resonate well with voters, especially those who are satisfied with how President Aquino has been running the government.
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