Palace: Defeat in 2016 polls 'fatal' to our enemies

MANILA, Philippines - Losing the 2016 presidential election would be a fatal blow to those opposing the reforms of the Aquino administration, Malacañang said Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda made the statement in response to New York-based think tank Global Source (GS) which said that the 2016 polls is shaping up as a battle between "continuity" and "change" in governance.

"GS is stating the conventional wisdom which is no different from the standard framing of most pundits. What is remarkable is they do recognize that for the first time in more than a generation, the Philippines has the opportunity to maintain its momentum by voting for continuity," Lacierda said in a text message.

"For this reason, it also recognizes that the enemies of reform have coalesced because losing two presidential elections in a row could be fatal to their power and fortune, to the advantage of the Filipino people," he added.

In a reported commentary, GS said next year's multi-contender presidential race still has no clear front-runner who can give the assurance of continuity in the executive department.

The GS noted that the administration's 2016 bet, Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, is still less popular than Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is playing the rich versus poor card.

However, the think thank also said that Roxas will soon catch up with the help of the administration's machinery.

On July 27, President Aquino anointed Roxas as his preferred successor, saying the latter is capable of continuing the reforms of the administration.

He recognized Roxas's low survey ratings, saying the Liberal Party should work harder to make their bet more popular.

In his final State of the Nation Address or days before endorsing Roxas, Aquino said the 2016 elections will be a referendum for the "Daang Matuwid."

"You will decide whether the transformation we are experiencing today will be permanent, or simply a brief and lucky deviation from a long history of failure," Aquino said.

"The question: Are we treading the right path? If your answer is no, then that is akin to saying 'I liked it better before, let’s just go back to the crooked path,'" he added.