(Photo from Roxas’ official Facebook page)
MANILA – Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and his running-mate Camarines Sur Representative Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) on Thursday – their ‘lucky day’ – at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) head office in Intramuros, Manila.
Roxas will join the presidential race while Robredo will run for vice president in next year’s national elections. Not directly asking for the Filipino people’s votes, the tandem hoped that the public would choose wisely on whom among the candidates they would support.
“Kami po ni Leni ay nagtitiwala na ang ating mga kababayan ay pipili ng tama sa darating na halalan… Ang amin pong ipinaglalaban ay hindi tungkol sa isang tao, isang tandem, o isang partido. Tungkol po ito sa lahat ng pangarap ng pamilyang Pilipino – pangarap na mabuhay ng may dangal,” he said after filing his COC.
(Leni and I trust that our countrymen will choose correctly in the coming elections… What we are fighting for is not a particular person, a tandem or a party. This is about all the dreams of the Filipino families – dreams to live with dignity.)
Roxas also thanked their supporters and vowed to continue the Aquino administration’s “Daang Matuwid” (Straight Path) type of governance once elected.
“Nagpapasalamat po kami sa ating mga kababayan sa pagkakataon na humarap sa inyo at ialay ang aming sarili bilang kinatawan ng ‘Daang Matuwid’,” he added, also thanking other aspirants for trusting the democratic process.
(We thank all our countrymen for the opportunity to face you and offer ourselves as representatives of the “Straight Path.”)
Roxas then disclosed that he and Robredo have fully committed themselves to serve the Filipino people, saying they were ‘all-in’ and would ‘give their all.’
President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III earlier endorsed Roxas as his preferred successor. The former Interior Secretary, for his part, chose Robredo as his running-mate in the coming general elections after Senator Grace Poe turned down his previous offer and opted to seek the country’s highest post instead.
Accompanied by the President, Roxas and Robredo first attended a Holy Mass at the Manila Cathedral before going to the Comelec’s main office around 8 a.m. The team-up’s supporters gathered outside the church, wearing yellow, holding streamers and presenting a Chinese traditional dance.
The LP standard-bearer placed either second or third in the recent pre-election surveys while Robredo only registered single-digit ratings in the vice-presidential preferences polls conducted by pollsters Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia.