Drilon: Roxas will prevail with help from LP machinery, Aquino popularity

Senate President Franklin Drilon remained optimistic on Monday that former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas would “prevail” in the May presidential race, citing the administration’s political machinery and the popularity of President Benigno Aquino III, who he said would actively campaign for Roxas.

“I would like to believe that the four candidates are closely bunched together,” Drilon said at the Pandesal Media Forum in Quezon City on Monday, referring to Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Grace Poe, and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“The next two months will be very crucial and I am confident that given the machinery that we have, and the fact that we have the President coming with us in the campaign–he was in Capiz, he was in Iloilo, he was in Camarines Sur–so I am confident that our presidential candidate will be able to improve his ratings.”

“Right now he (Roxas) is tied to 2nd place according to the latest surveys, but I am confident that we could prevail at the end of the campaign,” added Drilon, vice chairman of the Liberal Party.

Binay kept his lead in the latest Social Weather Stations survey conducted among 1,200 respondents from February 5 to 7 with 29 percent, followed by Poe and Duterte with 24 percent, Roxas with 18 percent, and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 4 percent.

READ: Binay, Roxas slip in latest SWS poll; Duterte, Poe tied in 2nd

Asked how the administration could push Roxas ahead of his rivals, Drilon said: “The machinery of the Liberal Party; we have dozens of local governments, if not hundreds of local government officials who are running under the LP unopposed, and therefore this is a very potent machinery which could carry us to victory.”

He said they would also be “patient in explaining to our people our program of government.”

Drilon also reiterated that the President is the best campaign manager, who could help Roxas win the presidential race.

READ: Drilon admits Roxas’ standing in surveys a ‘concern’

“No matter what our critics say, what they cannot deny is that out of the past presidents after EDSA, this is the president who has maintained his popularity up to the last six months of his administration,” he said.

“He (Aquino) has made it very clear that he with his policy of good governance; he believes that Mar Roxas is the best candidate to carry through to the next administration. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best campaigner that we have,” he further said.