Malacañang on Friday expressed belief that President Benigno Aquino III did not upstage Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo on Thursday, but instead their supporters showed “universal acclaim” for the three of them.
READ: President upstages Roxas, Robredo at Comelec
“The experience in all the gatherings showed the universal acclaim for the President, Mar and Leni. They are all well applauded and well loved,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told the Inquirer in a text message.
Mr. Aquino on Thursday accompanied Roxas and Robredo to the headquarters of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), where they filed their certificates of candidacy for President and Vice President.
He stole the show
The President, however, stole the show with his presence, as supporters of Roxas and Robredo and even spectators crowded around him either just to see him or take selfies with him.
“It is certainly refreshing to note that the high approval numbers of the President have persuaded the political analysts to shift their commentaries positively to an outgoing President who will play a significant role in the 2016 elections,” Lacierda said.
“He has said the 2016 elections is a referendum on [his reforms] and he is expected to play a significant role in promoting Mar and Leni. His presence [on Thursday] clearly showed his full support for the candidacies of Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo,” Lacierda added.
‘It may backfire’
But De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras is certainly not among those political analysts who consider Mr. Aquino’s popularity a leverage for Roxas and Robredo.
“It may backfire… It may help or it may not. You are being graded for your own performance. But candidates would be measured against their opponents,” Contreras told the Inquirer on the phone.
Contreras said he did not believe so much in satisfaction rating surveys because of the “fluid situation.”
For Contreras, President Aquino’s active involvement in the campaign could even “adversely affect” Roxas and Robredo.
He said he considered Mr. Aquino a lame duck because the President was not seeking reelection.