The 2016 Philippine Presidential Elections
In less than a year, Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aguino III’s reign will come to its end. His “daang matuwid” will be left as his legacy. The question is “Who will be there to keep this up?” Or “Who will be able to upgrade it to “daang matuwid 2.0?”
At the present time, three officials had already shared their plans and preparations for the coming elections. They are Binay, Poe and Roxas; they have officially accepted the challenge of being the nation’s next president.
With just a few months left in the Aquino administration, the three candidates have started making their presences known to the public and gathering trustworthy people that will help and accompany their future administration.
The Aspiring Candidates
Jejomar Binay: The Volunteer
Back in 2011, Binay had already expressed his plans of running for the 2016 Presidential Elections. He’s been very vocal and open about his intentions of becoming the country’s president.
It was on July 1 that United Nationalist Alliance or UNA had officially launched his presidential campaign at the Makati Coliseum. He is now the official presidential candidate of UNA for the coming 2016 Elections.
Binay had resigned from the Aquino cabinet but still performs his role as the nation’s vice president. After his resignation, he branded the administration as “manhid at palpak” in one of his public appearances.
"Ang sigaw ng UNA at ng taumbayan sawa na tayo sa kahirapan, sawa na tayo sa kawalan ng hanapbuhay, sawa na tayo sa kriminalidad at ilegal na droga. Sawa na tayo sa kakulangan ng basic
services...hirap na tayo sa manhid at palpak na pamahalaan," Binay said.
His statement gathered different reactions from both the administration and the public. But isn’t he also part of the said administration? Does that mean that he is “manhid at palpak” too?
Issues about his performance as a government official continue to rise and spread along the public making him one of the most targeted politicians by the media and even by the administration.
The alleged overprice construction of the Makati City Hall Building II is one of those issues but Binay denied being involved in it. He said that the issues and previous allegations on him are just tactics to bring him down since he has a notable performance in different surveys for the 2016 Elections.
Even with these issues, Binay’s works are still commendable especially in his home turf. During his time as Makati City’s mayor, he was able to improve the quality of education of students by giving scholarships and sponsorships and enhance the livelihood of the people.
At present time, Binay’s rating is 19 percent which is lower than his last rating of 22 percent based on Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan: Presidential Preferrences.
Grace Poe: The Neophyte
Last September 16, Poe officially declared her candidacy for the presidential position at the Bahay ng Alumni, University of the Philippines (Diliman, Quezon City).
In her speech she said that “No one person or group has a monopoly on a straight path advocacy." She made it clear that she has the intention to continue the “daang matuwid” by doing it her own way together with her future administration.
Poe has been topping the different presidential surveys since she announced her presidential candidacy. She has been receiving positive reviews by the masses.
Base on Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan: Presidential Preferrences, Poe got a 26 percent rating in the latest survey. On the previous months, she got 30 percent rating from the people.
Although she has high ratings, issues about her citizenship and residency is still a hot topic in the government. The controversy arose due to Poe’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in 2012, in which she had stated that she had been a resident of the Philippines for six years and six months.
Poe is known as the adopted daughter of late Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces; her being adopted and staying in the United States had added sparks to the issues about her citizenship.
On the other hand, some people are saying that Poe is yet another “PNoy” who had the sympathy votes of the people. Being the daughter of FPJ who has been a role model to many Filipinos will help her gain the trust and votes of the people.
Even with this assumption, her work as a senator is still impressive. She was one of the key people during the Mamasapano case and she never had issues about her DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program).
Mar Roxas: The Successor
On the last presidential elections, Roxas gave way for PNoy’s candidacy and became PNoy’s running mate as his vice president. Now, for the 2016 Elections, Roxas is the official candidate of the Liberal Party for presidency.
Last July 31, Roxas formally accepted LP’s nomination after he was officially endorsed by PNoy in the presence of their political allies at the Club Filipino. Soon after the event, he resigned as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in order to focus on his presidential campaign.
The Liberal Party believes that through his leadership, the “daang matuwid” will be kept and will continue to grow and develop in the country.
PNoy praised his abilities as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, and credited him with the creation of the Negros Island Region. His endorsement of Roxas had made the people thinking about how good he is in his job.
In the Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan: Presidential Preferences, Roxas got 20 percent rating in the September survey which increased from his 10 percent rating last May-June.
So who’s gonna get your deserving vote? Is it the Volunteer, the Neophyte, the Successor or will there be another man to join the list? We still have time to think things further and re-evaluate our judgments. Once again, we are going to choose our leader, we are going to choose our nation’s father/mother.