Mar denies pushing 2nd term for P-Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II on Thursday denied any attempt to push for the term extension of President Aquino.

“You yourself can say that there is no organized effort at the party, Cabinet or any level. There is no organized effort to push or manufacture anything because this is important,” said Roxas, who was the first to publicly broach the idea of term extension for the Chief Executive.

Meanwhile, Roxas refused to comment on reports about the possible tandem of Vice President Jejomar Binay and former senator Manuel Villar in the 2016 presidential elections.

“Where is the PNP (Philippine National Police)?” asked Roxas, as if he did not hear the question of The STAR regarding the Binay-Villar team up.

Binay is set to launch a new party by the first quarter of 2015. The vice president ran under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) in 2010.

Villar ran but lost to then Senator Benigno Aquino III in the 2010 presidential elections.

No need for interpreter

In another interview yesterday, Roxas also said there was no need for an “interpreter” to explain what President Aquino meant when asked if he was interested to stay in office beyond 2016.

While some said Aquino clarified once and for all that it was not his ambition to extend his term of office, others expressed belief he was still open to the idea of running again in 2016.

Roxas told reporters after the briefing on major infrastructure projects in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro attended by Aquino that the President sees himself stepping down but would listen to the people, his “bosses.”

He refused to answer whether he was ready to be the standard bearer of the Liberal Party (LP). Roxas is the LP’s president-on-leave.

“LP believes that good service, good governance is good politics. We are not politicking. We are not doing anything for politics’ sake. What we’re doing is we’re focused on our work and the people will be the ones to gauge whether what we are doing is right,” he said.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also said yesterday he believes that President Aquino is not interested in a second term.

“My own impression is that he is not contemplating a second term,” he told ABS-CBN News Channel.

Asked to appeal to Aquino to make a categorical and unequivocal declaration, Belmonte said, “I thought he already did that during his radio interview on Wednesday.”

In that radio interview, the President was asked what would he do on June 30, 2016, when he finishes his six-year watch.

He said the first thing he would do would be to savor freedom and delicious food with his chief media affairs officer, Undersecretary Rey Marfil, and his principal civilian aide, Assistant Secretary Jun Delantar.

Belmonte said the President should “concentrate on doing the most we can in the last two years of his presidency.”

‘Take cue from Noy’

The UNA asked yesterday the LP to take the cue from President Aquino’s declaration that he will not seek another term and drop their plan to amend the Constitution.

“Now that the President has spoken, the Roxas diehards in LP should now stand down and let the President enjoy the best food fare and fresh air,” said UNA secretary-general and Navotas Cong. Toby Tiangco.

Binay, for his part, yesterday said with Aquino’s statement, attention will now be on the pressing needs of the people.

But Parañaque City Rep. Gustavo Tambunting still scored yesterday the President for his vague statements on term extension. – With Jess Diaz, Jose Rodel Clapano, Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica