No-el never crossed Noy’s mind – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - A no-elections scenario in 2016 was never in President Aquino’s mind, a Palace official said yesterday.

“Let’s go by what the President himself has stated on record, the latest of which was the TV5 interview, where that topic was not discussed,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said, referring to speculations on automatic term extension for Aquino through Charter change.

He stressed the current political developments were not distracting the administration from doing its job, especially on improving the economy and the lives of the people.

Liberal Party stalwart and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who proposed that Aquino be allowed to serve another term, said he was for re-election of the President.

This means the President would be allowed to run again along with other candidates because the people will decide who the country’s leader will be.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on Friday Aquino had neither decided on term extension nor endorsing a candidate “if the elections will take place.”

He later clarified that in both instances, “2016 elections will push through.”

“This is not the case. The President has neither decided on term extension nor on endorsing a candidate, owing to the fact that his efforts are focused on more pressing matters of state. It should be noted that the 2016 elections will push through, and that the administration will always follow the processes set by the Constitution. We regret the confusion that the statement may have caused,” Lacierda’s office said in a statement yesterday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the issue should be put to rest because Lacierda’s clarification was sent promptly.

Various sectors have warned that term extension would be a threat to democracy and that Aquino must clarify his position over the issue soon.

There are observations that these issues are being floated so Aquino would not be a lame duck or because the ruling Liberal Party could not find a winnable presidential candidate.

Roxas, the LP’s presumptive standard bearer, said he was for term extension after Vice President Jejomar Binay claimed the administration party was considering to adopt him or to coalesce with the opposition’s United Nationalist Alliance.

Coloma said they do not see the current political developments having any effect on the economy, noting that “due to the country’s sound macro-economic fundamentals, this growth trajectory is likely to be sustained in the second half of the year.”

The country’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter due to several natural and man-made disasters that hit the Philippines, particularly Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“At least three international institutions – Moody’s Analytics, UK-based Barclays and DBS of Singapore – have announced forecasts of faster Philippine growth in second quarter, ranging from 6.2 to 6.7 percent. This validates the good governance platform of the President upon which he has embarked on the transformation of Philippine society and the reform of public institutions,” Coloma said.