AFTER a successful state visit to Canada and a meeting with Fil-Am community leaders in Chicago, President Noynoy Aquino’s return to Manila has reignited the curiosity of many kababayans as to who PNoy will anoint in the May 2016 Presidential Elections, which will be happening in less than a year.
For the longest time, many have been assuming that DILG Secretary Mar Roxas will get PNoy’s endorsement. After all, he was supposed to be the Liberal Party’s candidate in 2010, had he not given way to an Aquino candidacy.
Roxas is also the President-on-leave of the Liberal Party, and so it is fair to think that 2016 will be his time.
However just this week, Senator Grace Poe has revealed that President Aquino met with her before he flew to North America.
Sen. Poe shared with the public that Aquino said he will be open to endorsing a candidate who does not necessarily belong to the Liberal Party.
Poe added that what is most important for PNoy is to find a candidate who: 1. will continue the reforms his administration has started; and 2. will most likely win the trust, confidence and VOTE of the people come election time.
PNoy has reportedly been leaning toward endorsing a Roxas-Poe or Poe-Roxas ticket, but has not decided as to who will be LP’s bet for President.
In an ABS-CBN News report, even the leaders of the LP have been sending messages of openness to indicate that Poe may be their candidate of choice.
While some have expressed she may still be lacking in experience in politics compared to Roxas and would benefit to learn like an intern by running as VP to Roxas, others point out to Poe’s edge over Roxas: winnability.
Poe is no stranger to the Liberal Party as she ran for Senator and won first place as a guest candidate of the party. But this was just the start of her rise in politics.
She continued to win many Filipinos’ admiration, not just because she is the daughter of then-presidential candidate/Movie King Fernando Poe, Jr. and Movie Queen Susan Roces. How she has been doing her job as a new senator has caught the attention of kababayans who are not necessarily FPJ fans, but are just Filipinos looking for a candidate who may possibly beat VP Jejomar Binay.
As Poe’s ratings continue to soar, Roxas’ approval ratings, on the other hand, do not make him a strong candidate for President, and not even for VP.
Who would, and who should President Aquino endorse — Roxas or Poe? Would there be a dark horse among the young public servants like Francis Pangilinan and Alan Peter Cayetano? Or would the caliber of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago still have the chance to beat Binay, who now faces investigation and charges for corruption?
What do you think?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
