HOUSE Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. said he will likely support the candidacy of Senator Grace Poe over that of the Liberal Party’s presumptive standard bearer, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II in the 2016 presidential elections.
Between Poe and Roxas, Belmonte said, Poe was closer to his heart.
But he added that he has not made up his mind as yet.
“From a certain point of view, all of those running are good friends of mine and that’s why I have more or less kept away from this thing up to this point, but we are really reaching a very decisive point [in October] and that’s pretty close,” he said.
Belmonte also said he would favor a Roxas-Poe ticket next year, saying Roxas still had a chance to improve his survey rankings in the runup to the May 2016 elections.
He said Roxas placed third in the latests Social Weather Stations survey, behind Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay, but ahead of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Belmonte also said that the members of the Cabinet who are planning to run next year should resign by October, the month set by the Commission on Elections for the filing of certificates of candidacy for those running in the 2016 polls.
“It’s a good thing by October, these Cabinet members who are running will be forced to resign because at that point, they will… no longer part of the official family. They can disagree with the President if they want to; they can do their own thing. They can sell their own dream and I think that is necessary,” Belmonte said.
He said those who are as yet unsure should make up their mind.
Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, vice chairman for political affairs of the ruling Liberal Party and a known supporter of Roxas, shrugged off Belmonte’s statement regarding Poe.
“Every woman is closer to the heart of men, but choosing a president is not just decided by the heart but also by the mind,” Erice said.
Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez said: “Every man’s heart is closer to a woman.”
House Deputy Minority Leader and 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III said the Speaker was just being honest and was trying to think out loud.
“With his vast experience in politics, the Speaker should know who are winnable and who are not,” Bello said.
Also on Tuesday, opposition Senator JV Ejercito said he would resign from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) if he decides to support the Poe over Vice President Jejomar Binay in the 2016 presidential election.
In the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Ejercito admitted having difficulty choosing between the two, because they were both close to him and his family.
“I’m just hoping that one will not run,” he said. – With Macon Ramos-Araneta