In an interview after the second leg of the presidential debate in Cebu, former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary and Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas was asked about how he felt when at one point during the PiliPinas Debates 2016, his rivals seemed to gang up on him.
The report noted: “During the face-off round, Senator Grace Poe had the chance to ask Roxas about Yolanda and the Mamasapano clash. It was supposed to be a dialogue but Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wanted to join to grill Roxas. But they were restricted by TV5 head of news and public affairs Luchi Cruz-Valdes who was the debate’s moderator.”
A GMA News Online report quoted Roxas as saying, “I think nakita naman ninyo eh. Kahit ano pa ang mga survey-survey, ang nangunguna naman dito ay si Mar Roxas. Si Mar Roxas ang napagtulungan eh kaya sa akin silang lahat takot (I think you’ve all seen it. No matter what survey they do, it’s Mar Roxas in the lead. They’re ganging up on Mar Roxas because they’re all afraid of me).”
Roxas added, “Para sa akin naman, OK lang iyan. Nakikita ng mga kababayan natin na nasasagot naman natin na may laman at katotohanan, hindi pabola-bola (For me, it’s OK. Our countrymen can see that I answered with substance and truth. I didn’t use any tricks).”
