LP standard bearer Mar Roxas III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas is set to make an announcement on Tuesday, 10 a.m. at the LP Balay Headquarters in Quezon City.
Administration coalition spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez made the statement in a press briefing late Monday after Roxas overtook Senator Grace Poe and inched closer to the leading presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte based on the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s unofficial tally.
The spokesperson did not say whether Roxas would concede and follow the lead of Poe. Duterte is leading the race more than five million votes ahead of Roxas as of 11 p.m.
READ: After 32M votes counted: Duterte keeps lead, Mar in 2nd
But the Roxas’ camp remains positive about the results. “Being in second place is mas kaya than in third place. You have to be second first before you can be first,” Gutierrez said.
“As I’ve said earlier, there’s a certain amount of disappointment sa initial results but at the end of the day this is a fight worth fighting. This is something we have put our hearts and souls into. It’s not over until it’s over,” he said.
Asked about the current state of Roxas, Gutierrez said the administration presidential bet is “relaxed and at peace.”
“He’s pretty upbeat. From the start of the campaign, he said he is always relaxed and at peace because he’s not running for himself but he’s running as a champion of an idea,” he said. TVJ