Liberal Party presidential bet Mar Roxas explains his platforms during the Meet the Inquirer forum. SCREENGRAB FROM INQUIRER VIDEO
His wife, broadcaster Korina Sanchez is #lovelovelove, while newly declared presidential contender and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte is #AsaPaMore.
Shedding his usual stern self, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas on Wednesday gamely matched “hashtags” to persons and things associated with his presidential run in the 2016 national elections at the hourlong Meet the Inquirer Multimedia Forum in Makati City.
Roxas, the first presidential aspirant to attend the monthly forum of all Inquirer media platforms, also shared his views on the proposal to lower income taxes, the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila and other current issues.
Asked by Inquirer Libre editor in chief Chito de la Vega to pick one from several hashtags to describe his wife, broadcaster Korina Sanchez, he chose #lovelovelove.
“[There], I can go home later,” Roxas said, drawing laughter from the audience composed of executives, editors, reporters and employees of the Inquirer Group of Companies.
Told that some people were reluctant to vote for him because of his wife, Roxas said: “I’m saddened to hear that. Korina is my wife and I love her very much. She’s with me and I’m with her.”
#BFF
Should he win the presidency, Roxas said his wife would continue the charity work that she had started as a television personality and news reader of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
“I don’t expect her to go back to her profession, which she had given up for this,” said the LP standard-bearer.
For President Aquino, Roxas chose the hashtag #BFF, an acronym for “best friends forever.”
“The question is, does he feel the same way?” he added, with a laugh.
When someone suggested that he use #habanghair (long hair) instead, Roxas replied in jest: “Have pity. His hair is thinning.”
For Duterte, who joined the race for Malacañang after blowing hot and cold, Roxas chose “#AsaPaMore,” which loosely translates to “you wish.”
Rival presidential contender Sen. Grace Poe merited #SecondChance. “That’s interesting,” Roxas said briefly.
For several months, President Aquino and the LP leadership had tried to convince Poe to run as Roxas’ running mate, but the neophyte senator opted to seek the presidency herself after recent surveys showed her leading as the voters’ preference to succeed Mr. Aquino.
#PushPaMore
As for his fiercest political rival, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Roxas picked #PushPaMore, which can be translated to mean “try harder.”
When asked to choose a hashtag for the MRT, the problematic Metro Rail Transit elevated train system, he said: “#AchievePaMore.”
Roxas, who served as transportation secretary before the President appointed him interior secretary in 2013, said most of the problems besetting the country, such as traffic congestion, were a consequence of economic growth.
“We’re in a virtuous cycle,” he said.
Roxas chose #fantasticbaby for Goya, his pet Labrador that he described as their “substitute baby.”
His running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, was called “#blessed.”
Asked to pick a hashtag for Wharton School, regarded as one of the best business schools in the world, he said: “It’s #humblebrag … because I passed that school.”
As for Fiesta Carnival, the now-defunct indoor amusement center in Cubao, Quezon City, that his family owned, Roxas reluctantly chose #FirstLove.
“I grew up [going there]. Candy, popcorn and carousel … All my memories of it [were] about happiness,” he said.