While, on the one hand, it was definitely a tactical error on the part of UNA's presidential bet, VP Jojo Binay, to have declared his candidacy too early in the political ball game, on the other hand, the much delayed proclamation of LP's official standard bearer might prove to be a more costly mistake. The President's hesitation for so long to raise the hand of DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, and give his blessing to his loyal party mate is being seen as the Liberal Party's admission that Mar is a weak candidate. The President's hesitation to declare him as LP's official bet is interpreted that Mar will not be PNoy's choice, after all.
The much-publicized Malacañan dinner attended by the President and both Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares and Mar Roxas, together with Senator Chiz Escudero, is a clear indication that the President is still seriously doubting the winnability of his DILG secretary. This is a big embarrassment to the LP because both Senators Grace and Chiz are not members of the Liberal Party. Many LP pillars like Senate President Franklin Drilon, Mar's ''kasimanwa'', and Speaker Sonny Belmonte, along with Congressman Edgar Erice, have been batting for Roxas. But the President is still unconvinced that Mar can beat Binay.
The reason why President Noy is too anxious to anoint a sure-winner is not really that he wants his successor to continue his programs of government. The truth is, according to our informer from the Palace, the President is much apprehensive that if Binay or other non-administration bet should beat the LP candidate, there would be grave and imminent danger of multiple cases being filed against him and his close friends in the current administration. That is why the President is having ''sleepless nights'' and '' serious anxieties'' in desperate search for a sure-winner in the 2016 presidential polls.
Mar Roxas is a decent and honorable man. He has made a tremendous sacrifice when he set aside his presidential ambitions in 2010, in favor of the '' accidental aspirant'' PNoy, who unexpectedly threw his hat into the presidential derby six years ago, after the demise of his mother, former President Corazon C. Aquino. Today, there is a strong likelihood, that he again will be relegated to the role of a ''brides-maid'' and never a bride, for the sake of party unity. Roxas himself hinted this scenario when he surprisingly pointed out that he has a track record of stepping aside as an ultimate sacrifice in the name of a united LP.
Loyal LP leaders, contrary to the unsure PNoy, are already committed to Mar Roxas, through thick and thin and come hell or high water.. They have seen that Roxas has the competence, the character and the commitment to lead the nation in the next three years. And so, if the President should commit a political '' faux pas'' by anointing a non-LP like Grace Poe, then there is a very strong possibility that the party in power shall be split and the Roxas wing may decide to proceed and field the DILG secretary just the same, even without the blessings of the President. If this happens, the happiest presidentiable shall, of course, be Jojo Binay.
If and when the LP shall have two presidential candidates in 2016, then VP Jojo Binay shall laugh his way to victory. Or, Senators Bongbong Marcos, Ping Lacson, Alan Peter Cayetano, and even Senator Miriam D. Santiago may also join the fray and further assure a win for the vice president. Anything is possible in this part of the world. But, definitely, this LP indecisiveness and the President's long equivocation are giving aid and comfort to their nemesis, the vice president. The LP equivocation is the strongest evidence that it is not unbeatable.