MANILA, Philippines – “Korina is my wife and I love her very much.”

The typically stoic Manuel Roxas II turned to emotion on Wednesday, November 25, when asked if it was “fair for poor people” not to vote for him because of his wife, broadcaster Korina Sanchez.

“I’m saddened to hear that. But Korina is my wife and I love her very much. And she’s with me. And I’m with her,” Roxas said during a live Inquirer multimedia forum.

Roxas, the standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), has been married to Sanchez since October 2009. A month before their wedding, Roxas announced he would be dropping his nomination as the LP’s standard bearer for the 2010 elections, to make way for then-senator Benigno Aquino III’s presidential run.

Sanchez was once an anchor and chief correspondent in ABS-CBN, one of the biggest news groups in the Philippines. She eventually let go of her job as a journalist in the months preceding her husband’s announcement of a presidential run although she still hosts a magazine show in the TV network.

It’s not the first time Roxas has been asked about Sanchez and her role in his campaign and administration, should he win. (READ: ‘This is my husband’s calling’ – Korina Sanchez)

In an interview with Rappler’s #TheLeaderIWant series late October, Roxas said Sanchez would not be taking a role in government, should she be First Lady.

Roxas, speaking to Rappler, emphasized the “sacrifice” Sanchez took for his political plans.

“She had to put her career on hold… the last time I ran to public office she had to stop her career,” said Roxas then. In 2010, when Roxas was running for vice president, Sanchez took a leave of absence from her work in ABS-CBN.

What if Roxas wins? The break from her journalism career, said Roxas, will likely become “permanent.”

Sanchez sometimes represents Roxas in events he is unable to attend save for “functions where policy [is discussed],” Roxas told Rappler then.

Sanchez has been a journalist since the early 80s. – Rappler.com