Mar, Leni visit typhoon-hit areas, deny campaign stunt

MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and his running mate Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo made their presence felt in typhoon-hit areas on Tuesday but denied that it was part of their campaign.

Roxas and Robredo led the distribution of relief goods to residents of Aurora and Nueva Ecija, two of the provinces severely hit by Typhoon Lando.

Roxas immediately made it clear that the relief effort was not related to the upcoming elections.

“This is not the time for campaign or politics. This is the time to serve you and respond to your needs,” the presidential candidate told evacuees at San Josef National High School in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

On Monday, Roxas said he and Robredo have suspended their campaign to prepare food packs and to visit areas affected by “Lando.”

He said he decided not to visit the typhoon-hit provinces last Monday to allow local officials to concentrate on their humanitarian efforts.

"We do not want to disturb the relief operations. If we go there, the local government officials will meet us. Instead of meeting us, we want them to focus on what they are supposed to do,” Roxas said.

In an interview with reporters at the LP headquarters in Quezon City last Monday, Roxas made it clear that the distribution of goods was not a campaign gimmick.

"Notice the plastic. It has no color and has no markings. It’s really not for campaign. We really do this in times of calamities,” he said.

“We’re just doing our part quietly here,” Roxas added.

Some experts, however, are not buying Roxas’s claim.

“The color of the plastic bag (containing the goods) does not matter. Roxas’s plan to run for president is already in the consciousness of Filipinos so they will think that it is part of the campaign,” Erickson Calata, political science professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, said.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, believes the relief mission is part of the campaign.

“Since he is no longer with DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government), it is for campaign,” Casiple said.

Roxas, however, said he and his allies have been assisting disaster victims since the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.