MANILA, Philippines – With the end of his term less than 2 years away, President Benigno Aquino III said the process of choosing the candidate he will be endorsing in the 2016 presidential polls has begun, but stressed this will be through consensus. 

On Tuesday evening, November 18, Aquino admitted he’s been thinking about this for a long time. “To ensure [the reforms continue], it is important that there be a consensus, an agreement by all that we support one who will be the face of the government platforms we want for our country,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Singapore.

Asked whether the selection process has started, Aquino said “at the very least, the consensus-building processes are being conducted.”

The President said he’s open to talks with other political parties and coalition partners. He said he has also talked to Vice President Jejomar Binay, who plans to run for the top post in 2016, but clarified “we do not talk about who will be the candidate.”

Asked whether or not the ruling Liberal Party would consider backing Binay for the presidential race, Aquino said: “In our party, it is important that there is a consensus. It cannot be that one person talks about something that has not been agreed upon yet.” He added: “So I am not at liberty to talk on behalf of the Liberal Party (LP), and if I talk on an individual basis, isn’t it the time is not yet right?”

Aquino is largely expected to endorse LP stalwart and Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who gave up his presidential bid in 2010 to make way for the more popular Aquino. Roxas instead ran for vice president but lost to Binay.

Binay is the only candidate who has openly announced his plans to run for president in 2016, even forming his own political party, which served as the opposition to Aquino’s senatorial coalition in the 2013 midterm elections. Binay leads presidential polls, but has seen a dip in his surveys as he battles recent corruption allegations against him and his family.

‘Thank you’

In the same interview, Aquino said he remained confident that Filipinos continue to believe in his administration. A day earlier, latest surveys showed the Aquino administration’s public satisfaction ratings rebounded in September from a record low.

“[I knew] they would foresee that regardless of what any sectors say, the truth will eventually come out and everyone will see it,” he said. “They will see what we’re doing and they will come back [to us]. You don’t have to tell them, they themselves will experience the reforms that are happening.”

“Thank you for the trust, thank you for the mandate. I wouldn’t be able to do anything if they didn’t help me get here in the first place,” he said.

LP stalwarts believe that Aquino’s popularity will be enough to carry his anointed one to victory, but other party members also think LP should look beyond Roxas, who’s not been performing well in surveys. – Rappler.com