Erice to Kris Aquino: I didn’t intend to blame PNoy for Mar’s 2016 loss

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice said that it was not his intention to blame former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for Mar Roxas’ defeat in the 2016 presidential election.

Erice, Roxas’ campaign manager for his senatorial bid now, was quoted in a recent Inquirer report as saying that one of the mistakes Roxas’ made was wearing yellow in his presidential bid.

Now that Roxas is running for senator in the 2019 midterm polls, his camp has switched back to blue – his original campaign color when he ran for senator, then vice president, in earlier elections. Erice said, “It was a conscious decision [to change colors] because one mistake [Roxas] made in 2016 was acting like Robin to [Aquino’s] Batman…and Robin will never be Batman.”

This statement however did not sit well with Aquino’s sister, host and actress Kris, who took to Instagram and lashed out at the Caloocan congressman over the comment.

In a text message to Rappler on Monday, April 15, Erice addressed Kris: “Mam, it’s not my intention to blame Pres Pnoy. I am very close to him. I believe he did a great for our country. I simply replied to a question of why we are now wearing blue. And my simple and honest reply was to establish our own identity, and I think one of the mistakes of 2016 was the perception that Mar is the Robin and Robin can never be a Batman.”

Erice said he and Roxas will always be loyal and “true blue Liberals,” and that they “stand with the party.”

“There might be differences in strategies in coping with the present situation, but the principles remain and embedded in our hearts, in our minds, and in our souls,” Erice said.

Kris, while she herself has had misunderstandings with her brother over other matters, has defended him against political critics.

“Wrong color now, I know, but to my only brother, please know: I will always choose you,” Kris said.

View this post on Instagram

i know we were raised knowing the world can turn their backs on us BUT we’d always have each other… in time i pray we can be FAMILY again.

A post shared by Kris Aquino (@krisaquino) on Apr 14, 2019 at 2:11am PDT

She also said that she had spoken to Senator Francis Pangilinan, who asked her for a “ceasefire.” Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, is managing the campaign of the LP-led coalition’s senatorial slate, Otso Diretso, to which Roxas belongs. 

View this post on Instagram

i archived my other post not because i don’t stand by everything i said, but because ma respeto akong pinakiusapan ni @kiko.pangilinan ng “ceasefire.” Please know this about me, when i have seen a person is GENUINE, madali akong kausap, kaya kong magbigay. Bunso akong nasaktan dahil sa nabasa ko: inapakan ang pagkatao ng kapatid ko, na nanatiling tapat sa taong paniwala syang totoong kaibigan nya. Nung nilaglag sya ng ganun ganun lang- pumalag ako. Pero mag react man ako, mabubura ba nun yung sugat sa puso ni Noy na alam kong sa pagkatao nya- never tayong makakabalita ng kahit anong sama ng loob? baka mas lalo pa syang masaktan dahil alam nyang kaming mga kapatid nya nadurog ang puso para sa kanya. umiikot naman ang mundo. i accompanied this post w/ a few selfies from a couple of nights ago because i was checking on my neck & eyes because of my health issues. Walang filter, walang inayos, yung swollen lymph nodes in my neck, yung face na lubog na sinusubukang itago sa inyo- nilabas na lang. Kasi ayokong mabuhay na niloloko kayo at ang sarili ko. Yun ang kaya kong panghawakan- NEVER KONG binlame sa iba ang mga pagkadapa at pagkatalo ko.

A post shared by Kris Aquino (@krisaquino) on Apr 14, 2019 at 7:38am PDT

– Rappler.com

(Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this report said Edgar Erice had apologized to Kris Aquino for his remark. The Caloocan congressman clarified that he didn’t apologized, and only explained his statement that was misconstrued as puttign blame on former President Noynoy Aquino.)