Palace on no-el: Lacierda’s English better than his Filipino

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is now attributing the blunder presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda committed last week to his handicap in communicating in the vernacular when he floated – wittingly or unwittingly – the idea of having no elections in 2016.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Lacierda is not well versed in speaking in the national language.

“This is why we have been told to speak English, to be more precise,” she said yesterday.

Valte noted Lacierda spoke Filipino half the time last Friday.

Lacierda speaks fluent Chinese. He is a graduate of De La Salle University and obtained a law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Lacierda himself did not deny the quote, which he clarified hours later. He issued an apology over the weekend.

“We regret the confusion that the statement may have caused,” he said in a statement.

“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,” he said.

Some quarters believe the statement made by Lacierda – a lawyer by profession – could either be a slip of the tongue or a calculated float to test public reaction to the no-election scenario primarily because the administration’s presidential candidate is lagging in surveys.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, the presumptive standard bearer of the Liberal Party, is behind his potential 2016 rival Vice President Jejomar Binay, and even neophyte Sen. Grace Poe in the surveys.

It is widely believed that Aquino will endorse Roxas, who agreed to slide down to the vice presidential race in the May 2010 elections.

In almost all his speeches, Aquino has pitched for a successor who can continue the reforms he started. But the President has fallen short of naming Roxas.

Aquino’s siblings and several relatives are known to be supporting Binay in 2016, as they did in the 2010 elections.

Last week, Aquino lamented premature campaigning for 2016. Again he did not name names.

For her part, Valte gave assurance the 2016 elections will push through as scheduled.

Aquino has expressed openness to amending the Constitution to clip the enormous powers of the judiciary, and even to lift his single-term limit.

Roxas has openly expressed hope that Aquino can seek reelection.