THE controversies that hounded Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II in his Cabinet portfolios could be the reason his ratings had been stagnant, his running mate Leni Robredo suggested Tuesday.
But Roxas said the surveys had not yet reflected the Liberal Party’s strength in the grassroots, adding he would “continue telling the truth” amid the black propaganda being spread against him by his rivals.
He made the statement even as the LP on Tuesday slammed former Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal for claiming the use of the campaign slogan “Daang Matuwid” as nicknames for Roxas and Robredo was a violation of Comelec rules.
But Larrazabal continued to question the Comelec’s decision to accept the nicknames for Roxas and Robredo.
When asked about her continued rise in the polls compared to her running mate’s rather anemic performance, Robredo said Roxas had to start with dismal numbers but started improving after he was endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III.
She said her advantage was her being a relatively “new” face in the campaign, while Roxas was being hounded by many controversies.
“Secretary Mar had many baggage due to the assignments given to him,” Robredo said.
Roxas, after losing to Vice President Jejomar Binay in 2010, was appointed by Aquino first as Transportation secretary in 2011 and then Interior secretary in 2013.
The latest Pulse Asia survey placed Robredo in second spot at 22 percent in the vice presidential race, surpassing former survey frontrunner Senator Francis Escudero at 21 percent and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at 28 percent.
Roxas continued to trail, and had only 19 percent compared with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (30 percent), Poe (25 percent) and Binay (20 percent).
But Roxas said his strategy less than a month before the May 9 polls was to “continue telling the truth” amid the alleged black propaganda being spread against him by his rivals, particularly Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
“Our strategy is continue telling the truth,” Roxas said in Ozamiz City.
“We don’t need to establish lies, quip or insult others and bring them down to raise myself. Our countrymen know the truth.”
Since the start of the campaign, Duterte has positioned himself as the “anti-LP” candidate, claiming the ruling party was the “real threat to democracy” for protecting elite interests as he rebuked Roxas’ statements describing him as a “threat to democracy” and a “liar.”