Roxas vs Escudero: Who did more for Capiz and Sorsogon?

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero and former Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

Who are better off—the people of Capiz or Sorsogon?

Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Mar Roxas on Wednesday turned the tables on Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a vice presidential candidate, for suggesting that the former interior secretary could have done more for his Capiz province home.

“Perhaps let’s also ask the people of Sorsogon about how they are now,” Roxas told reporters in Quezon City. Escudero, running mate of Sen. Grace Poe, hails from Sorsogon.

Roxas was reacting to the senator’s comment that he should have done more for his home province, considering his close association with the President and his previous government posts.

But Roxas would have none of it.

“What I know is Capiz used to be very poor. It had no water, no power, no trade. Now it’s thriving. How many Jollibee [branches] and shopping malls do we have now?” he said.

“These are signs of progress in a community. It’s the people themselves who can say that,” he added in Filipino.

Capiz is classified by the National Statistical Coordination Board as a first-class province, meaning it has an annual income upwards of P450 million, while Sorsogon is a second-class province with a yearly income of between P360 million and P450 million.

Roxas said Escudero was just trying to worm himself into a nonexistent debate.

“What can you expect from someone like Chiz, who’s like a ‘salimpusa’ (spare), who just wants again to butt in on national discussions?” he said.

In a press conference in Roxas City earlier Wednesday, Escudero said: “He (Roxas) could have done more compared to what we are seeing here. Don’t ask me, ask the residents on what changes they expected in their province because of his being a secretary, and not as congressman or senator, the favorite of a sitting president who endorsed him as his presidential bet.”

Escudero said the record of the so-called son of Capiz was more glaring if you consider that he had served under three administrations—Estrada, Arroyo and Aquino—or 15 years in the high echelon of power.

“Give a congressman or senator or secretary a chance to be close to the President for one year and you’d probably won’t recognize the province from the year you started being close to Malacañang,” Escudero said.

He cited three things that Roxas should have done for his province during his stay in the Cabinet—develop its infrastructure; improve its water supply; and redistribute its wealth.

“Only a few have money in this province, there are so many poor people and the gap between the rich and the poor is so big,” Escudero said.

He said that this was the same situation in Makati City, which was ruled for nearly 30 years by Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family, where the senator believed corruption had led to the great divide between the rich and poor.

“But the people in Makati have a better chance of improving their lives than those living in the provinces, just like Capiz,” Escudero said.

The LP political affairs chief, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, defended Roxas, claiming that Escudero was the least appropriate person to rate Roxas’ performance.

Erice said only President Aquino could rate Roxas fairly.

“Even P-Noy did not see Chiz as being fit for a higher post as he chose to endorse a neophyte (Camarines Rep. Leni Robredo) over Chiz. Chiz has no executive experience that is why he cannot readily judge the performance of somebody in the executive department,” Erice said.

Capiz, located in Western Visayas, is a Roxas stronghold, while Sorsogon is under the control of the Escudero clan. The enmity between the two candidates may be traced back to the 2010 elections when Escudero made famous the so-called “Noy-Bi” tandem, referring to Noynoy Aquino and Jejomar Binay, who would both win. Roxas, who lost to Binay, had been Aquino’s running mate.