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GOVERNMENT ISSUE

LP ready for 2016 with Mar for president

Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II

(born May 13, 1957) is a former Senator of the Philippines. He is the son of former Senator Gerry Roxas, and the grandson of former President Manuel Roxas and industrialist J. Amado Araneta. A graduate of the Wharton School, Roxas worked as an investment banker, mobilizing venture capital funds for small and medium enterprises.He served as the Representative of the 1st District of Capiz from 1993 to 2000. His stint as Congressman was cut short after he was appointed by President

Joseph Estrada as Secretary of Trade and Industry.He resigned from the position at the height of the EDSA Revolution of 2001 and was later re-appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her new Cabinet. He resigned again to run for a Senate seat in the 2004 Philippine election. He was elected as Senator with 19 million votes and the highest ever garnered by a national candidate in any Philippine election and co-author of Expanded Value Added Tax Law (E-Vat).

DAGUPAN CITY Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II is still the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party (LP) in the 2016 elections, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

Roxas is the presidential candidate we will present and the party is ready for 2016, LP stalwart Drilon said in response to questions from journalists.

Drilon would not comment on who would be Roxas runningmate.

While the LP has not yet discussed its entire lineup, Drilon said some names are already in the partys possible senatorial slate, and one of them is former Pangasinan third district Rep. Rachel Arenas, daughter of Rep. Rosemarie Arenas.

The popularity of President Aquino, LP chair, has suffered a setback in recent surveys and some say his endorsement might adversely affect his candidates for 2016.

But Drilon said surveys are the perception for a particular period and I am certain that over the several months, with constant explanations, the people would be enlightened that the policies being pursued by the government are really for the public.Drilon added that he is sure that the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay, another presidential contender, is also concerned about the consistent slide of his approval ratings.

You ask any statistician pollster. One survey should not be a cause for concern. What we have to watch out is over a period of time, there is a trending and if the slide continues in different surveys conducted, that must be looked into, Drilon said.

You look at two, three, four surveys and look at the trend, how it looks like and that should be the time to analyze why you are falling behind, he explained.

Drilon noted that the surveys on Binay are a cause for worry because it (approval rating) has consistently declined.

Drilon, meanwhile, emerged as the most trusted government official in the surveys.He said he will continue to work and prove to the people that he is worthy of their trust and confidence. He also maintained that he is not using this as a gauge for him to aspire for a higher position.

I always have my feet on the ground, he added.

Meanwhile, President Aquino expressed confidence that Filipinos would vote wisely in the next elections to sustain the countrys gains.

He made the statement yesterday when he led the bell ringing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in Makati City.

With Aurea Calica