Noy to campaign for Mar – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will campaign for his anointed successor, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas II – but without using government resources.

Malacañang gave the assurance yesterday as it emphasized Roxas would definitely resign but declined to confirm whether Liberal Party secretary general Mel Senen Sarmiento would be appointed to take over the DILG.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio dzRB the President went out of his way to rally support for the administration candidates in 2013.

“The President really helped in pushing for their candidacies. You can expect no less from the President, especially when it comes to the candidacy of Secretary Mar Roxas,” Valte said.

She also expressed belief the Cabinet members were solidly behind the President, judging from the presence of most of them at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan on Friday. 

“We must remember that members of the Cabinet… know how professional Secretary Roxas is when it comes to work. So I think their mere presence alone...will tell you that their support is there for the President’s candidate,” Valte said, adding some of them missed the event because of prior commitments.

Valte said there was nothing to worry about resources getting allocated for election purposes because “we know the law and we follow the law.”

According to Valte, the details of the lump sum funds in the budget for 2016 can be accessed by the public on government websites and that the Department of Budget and Management has “disaggregated” the bulk of the amount.

“Some of them – again, by the very nature of the Special Purpose Fund – you cannot really itemize because it takes away the flexibility that Congress has always given to the President in terms of special items,” she said.

“We have already discussed that,” Valte said, adding that such was the case for the Contingency Fund and the Calamity Fund.

Valte also said Roxas’ resignation from the DILG was a given and he cannot be accused of using his position to advance his candidacy.

“Certainly, he will not do that (use his position). It is a given that he will step down. What he is actually preparing for is the transition already to whoever will lead the DILG next,” Valte said.

“So there is no need to ask for that. That is really part of the plan of Secretary Roxas,” she said.

Different ballgame

Valte also said it’s a different ballgame now between Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay in the presidential race.

“In my view, a lot has changed since 2010 leading to 2016. And maybe now Vice President Binay is facing more allegations of corruption that they have not yet answered in the Senate,” she said. Roxas lost to Binay in the 2010 vice presidential race. Binay at that time was not yet plagued with corruption issues.

“I think there is big difference between the situation in 2010 and what the situation will be in 2016,” Valte said.

The Vice President resigned from the Aquino Cabinet to become the leader of the opposition.