Roxas slams ‘distribution’ of cash in sortie
Presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON
Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas vehemently condemned the alleged distribution of envelopes to the audience who attended his campaign sortie in Pikit, North Cotabato last March.
“I vehemently condemn these actions. This is not part of my platform, program, or actions. To me, this is wrong,” Roxas said in a statement posted on his official Facebook account on Tuesday.
Roxas also vowed that his camp would investigate the local organizers of the event.
“I have not seen the video but if it indeed happened, we will find out who the organizers were and we will make them realize my view that this is wrong and must stop,” he added.
But North Cotabato district Representative Jesus Sacdalan, under whose jurisdiction Pikit is located, clarified that the giving out of envelopes was merely a “bad joke” uttered by the emcee.
“Gusto kong linawin ang isyu ng video kung saan nagbitiw ng hindi magandang biro ang emcee tungkol sa mga envelope. Walang basehan ang birong ito at hindi ito ayon sa sinusundan naming patakaran. We do not engage in that kind of politics,” Sacadalan said.
(I want to clarify the issue on a video wherein an emcee made a bad joke about the distribution of envelopes. This joke is baseless and does not adhere to our policies. We do not engage in that kind of politics.)
The alleged cash distribution happened shortly before Roxas and running mate Leni Robredo arrived at the venue of the campaign.
In the viral video, it showed the emcee telling the audience, “Mahina dito ba, wala kayong envelope ha (You are not loud enough, you won’t get an envelope),” and “mahina d’yan sa likod, wala kayong envelope mamaya sige (we cannot hear those at the back; you won’t get envelopes)” as they practiced the “Oras na, Roxas na!” chant.
“Daang Matuwid” coalition spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez also maintained that their camp does not tolerate the distribution of cash to the supporters.
“Our instruction to the local organizers of these events is clear—we do not tolerate this sort of things. We are investigating the truth behind this video. Again, these things are prohibited. Even if Mar and Leni are not yet there, these things are not allowed,” Gutierrez said. IDL
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