MANILA, Philippines – Administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II on Tuesday, September 22, took a jab at one of his rivals for the presidency, amid allegations he is using government funds to further his presidential campaign.

“Sa pagkakaalam ko si Secretary Ikot nag-resign na, ako nag-resign na, s’ya nananatili pa rin sa pamahalaan, eh sino kaya ang gumagamit ng government resources?” said Roxas in a chance interview with reporters in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. (As far as I know, Secretary Jericho Petilla has resigned. I’ve resigned. He’s still in government, so who’s using government resources?)

Roxas, the former interior secretary, was in the province for a general assembly of electric cooperatives. Accompanying him was Petilla, who resigned as energy secretary late April this year.

The administration bet was asked to react to allegations from the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay that the rise in his latest survey numbers was due to “heavy advertising, questionable use of government resources” on the part of Roxas. The charge was made by Binay’s spokesman for political affairs lawyer Rico Quicho.

Unlike Binay, however, the position Roxas once held was an appointed one. Binay was elected Vice President in 2010, edging out Roxas in a come-from-behind win. 

In the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) “top of mind” survey, Roxas placed second to front-runner Senator Grace Poe. Binay ranked third although the margin of error in the survey puts him at a statistical tie with Roxas.

Binay had long been the early survey front-runner, up until an ongoing Senate probe into allegations of corruption during his time as Makati mayor made a dent in his numbers.

Roxas, who was endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III on July 31, has long been defending himself from allegations he is using government resources to further his campaign. He stayed on as interior secretary for around a month after his anointment.

Back then, Roxas insisted that no government resources were being used for politics, pointing to his track record as proof.

Resign

Recently, another political camp hit an administration official for supposedly serving both government and Roxas and the ruling Liberal Party (LP). Senator Francis Escudero, who is running for vice president alongside Senator Grace Poe, called on Palace Spokesperson Secretary Edwin Lacierdo to resign.

Lacierda insisted there was no need for him to resign, since he was only fulfilling his job as Aquino’s spokesman.

Roxas also deflected questions on the validity of the SWS “top of mind” survey. Political observers have criticized the methodology of the survey, which asks respondents to name 3 people best to succeed Aquino, who is set to step down in June 2016.

“Siguro sila ang pinakamabuting makapagpaliwanag kung bakit ganun ang kanilang katanungan. Ang paliwanag nila sa ‘kin na itong tanong na ito ay siyang parehong tinatanong nila nang nakaraang mga taon pa. Nung namamayagpag yung ibang mga pangalan sa katanungan na ‘yun wala namang reklamo,” said Roxas, an apparent hit at Binay, who had previously led “top of mind” surveys.

(Maybe it’s best you ask the SWS why their question is phrased that way. The explanation to me is that they’ve been asking the same question the past few years. Other camps, when they led that survey, didn’t question the results.)

Roxas has the highest climb among the 3 declared presidential candidates in the latest “top of mind” survey. Historically, Roxas has done well in that particular survey, in contrast to Pulse Asia’s poll, which asks respondents to name only one choice for president. – Rappler.com