LIGAO CITY, Nov. 8 (PNA) -- Rep. Fernando V. Gonzalez (3rd District, Albay) vowed to deliver the biggest number of votes to presidential candidate Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party.
“We will deliver for him (Roxas) the biggest votes in the Philippines in the 2016 elections,” Gonzalez said before 5,000 supporters of the Liberal Party who flocked to Ligao City Park on Friday afternoon.
The third district of Albay is the bailiwick of Gonzalez, a re-electionist, who said the Roxas-Leni tandem is capable of continuing the Tuwid na Daan (straight path) program of President Benigno S. Aquino.
“His (Roxas) track record is proven with untainted controversy of graft and corruption,” the solon said.
Roxas flew in Ligao City following the invitation of Gonzalez as his own way of expressing gratitude to the Aquino administration for providing more than Php5 billion budget for farm-to-market roads, flood control and irrigation projects, school buildings to make the entire third district ready for the implementation of K- 12 program of the Department of Education.
Local LP leaders and candidates from provincial, city, municipal down to barangay level from six municipalities and one city here convened Friday to show their support to the candidacy of Roxas.
The Albay lawmaker said Roxas is responsible for converting Ligao town into cityhood in 1998 and providing assistance for the establishment of the Php13-million Land Transportation Office dubbed as one of the best buildings in the country, establishment of Philippine National Police provincial office building and Bottom-Up Budgeting projects like water system facilities to waterless communities.
Roxas served as chairman of the committee of local government units during his incumbency as a legislator.
“We owe him a lot of things. We’re supporting his candidacy because he can pursue the Tuwid na Daan of President Aquino,” the last-term congressman of Albay third congressional district said.
For his part, Roxas expressed gratitude to Gonzalez for inviting him again to Ligao City 15 years after the cityhood.
As he met his local supporters here, the LP presidential bet said that through the Tuwid na Daan of the Aquino administration, the Philippines has been transformed from the “Sick man of Asia” into “Asia’s bright spot”.
As to the poverty alleviation, Roxas said the government supported at least 6,387 poor families in Ligao as 4Ps beneficiaries, 78,617 in Albay province; and a total of 4.5 million poor families across the country.
He said that through the 4Ps program of the government more students from poor families were able to go to school as the Daan Matuwid focused on helping the poor people rise from poverty through education.
“Our dream is that every Filipino will have a better way of living through education,” Roxas said. (PNA) CTB/FGS/RBB/CBD