Daniel Padilla (MNS Photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — “Yes, I am.”
These were the words of “Pangako Sa ‘Yo” star Daniel Padilla when asked to confirm if he is throwing his support behind the 2016 presidential bid of Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas.
The 20-year-old Padilla said he has every right as a registered voter to pick a candidate for the upcoming elections.
“Dahil choice ko iyon at kung nagparehistro kayo, may choice din kayo,” he said.
The actor, considered to be one of the most popular among the Filipino youth, surprised many when he posted a video of him on his Twitter account interviewing Roxas.
Titled “Traffic Episode,” the clip has Padilla questioning the former interior secretary about pressing issues such as the worsening metro traffic.
In response, Roxas claimed that one of the government’s solution to decongest EDSA is already on its way in the form of the NLEX-SLEX connector. “Ginagawa na iyan at magpapatuloy ang pagtratrabaho niyan, at siguro sa mga susunod na taon ay kumpleto na iyan,” he said.
Roxas added that the government will also implement a change in the system of granting franchises to public utility buses. He claimed: “Iyan ang sistema na ipapatupad natin para gumanda nga ang daloy ng trapiko.”
In another video, Padilla was joined by her mother, veteran actress Karla Estrada. The two, who hail from Tacloban, asked Roxas about the criticisms that hounded the government’s early rescue efforts in the aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda.
Roxas noted that Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin was already in Tacloban the night before Yolanda made landfall. He also stressed that the government was able to distribute relief goods in the city 24 hours after the calamity struck.
“Doon na nagsimula at hindi na kami bumitiw. Mula nung dumating si Yolanda, hanggang mag-stabilize ang situation, at hanggang sa ngayon, two years later ay tinututukan pa rin natin ang pagbangon muli ng Tacloban at iba pang bayan at lalawigan,” Roxas said. (MNS)