Roxas camp says presidential race ‘still tight’

Liberal party presidential candidate Mar Roxas visit the Islamic Center, Manila, the oldest Muslim community in Luzon.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

Despite trailing behind his rivals in preelection surveys, the camp of administration standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II believed that the five-way presidential race is still tight.

“Patuloy pa ring nag-iisip ang ating mga kababayan at dikit pa rin ang laban. Habang tumatagal, mas lalong nadidinig ang mensahe ng pagpapatuloy ng pag-unlad na dala ni Mar Roxas,” Liberal Party (LP) spokesman Ibarra “Barry” Gutierrez III said in a statement on Friday.

(Our fellow countrymen continue to consider whom they will vote for and the presidential race is still tight. As the campaign goes on, the message of continuous progress brought by Mar Roxas becomes more widespread.)

Gutierrez issued the statement after Roxas placed third in the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by ABS-CBN.

Roxas only got 19 percent compared to poll frontrunner Sen. Grace Poe, who had 28 percent. Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Jejomar Binay were in a statistical tie with 24 percent and 23 percent of voter preference, respectively.

READ: Poe keeps lead in latest Pulse Asia poll

“Dito sa huling 39 araw ng kampanya, aangat ang aming mensahe sa lahat ng paninira at pamemeke na patuloy nilalabas ng aming mga karibal. Sa huli, mananaig ang katotohanan,” Gutierrez said.

(In the last 39 days of campaign, our message will prevail despite the mudslinging and fabrications made by our political opponents. In the end, truth will prevail.)

Roxas and his vice presidential bet Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo’s campaign is running under the platform of continuing the “daang matuwid” (straight path) governance of President Benigno Aquino III.

In the vice presidential race, Robredo got 21 percent behind his leading rivals Senators Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who shared the top spot with 25 percent.

However, the LP remained unfazed by the low survey rankings of Roxas and Robredo.

READ: ‘Roxas in good place for 2016’

“Buong buo ang aming loob na palakas pa ng palakas ang suporta ng ating mga kababayan kay Mar at Leni, at sila ang magiging number 1 sa pinakamahalagang survey sa May 9,” Gutierrez said.

(We are confident that our fellow countrymen’s support for Mar and Leni is growing and they will emerge victorious in the most important survey on May 9.) RAM