Despite Poe rejection, Roxas to continue ‘fight for democracy’

Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Sen. Grace Poe. INQUIRER PHOTOS

Despite Sen. Grace Poe’s rejection of his offer to unite against a “looming dictatorship,” Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas says he will continue his fight for democracy.

“It is unfortunate that Senator Poe has rejected and ridiculed my offer to meet and talk about unity and our country’s way forward,” he said in a statement to the media on Friday.

“The things at stake in this issue are important: democracy, economy, employment, the welfare of the country. For these and so many reasons, we will not cower.”

Earlier, Roxas made an unexpected announcement, inviting Poe to a “unity” meeting to thwart what the administration candidate said was “a specter of dictatorship.”

He did not directly attribute this to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte but laid down the threats the latter’s presidency could bring to the country.

“The peso has dropped, affecting everything from the price of oil, medicines, steel, other imported goods; investors are putting plans on hold; and after six years of the corrupt being on the run, we now face the possibility of a leader coming to power who cares nothing about honesty, integrity, transparency, responsibility, or even just basic decency,” Roxas said.

Minutes after his televised announcement, Poe, in a radio interview, said she was willing to talk to Roxas, but immediately clarified that she would not withdraw from the race and give way to the LP candidate, who had been catching up with her and Duterte in the recent surveys.

Roxas explained why he had to make public his offer of joining forces with Poe when he could just directly contact her.

“According to her, ‘Pero sa puntong ito, ano pa ang pag-uusapan natin? (At this point, what is there left to talk about?),’” he said.

“I made this conversation public because the matter is not between the two of us. It involves our supporters, our constituencies,” he added.

“With just a few days before elections, it is important that the public is informed because at the end of all this, it is their interest at stake.”

Roxas maintained he would not be defeated in his fight and expressed confidence that he would win in this political battle.

“This is a fight worth fighting, this is the good fight! The fight continues! Let’s win this!” RC

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