Palace: Too early to link 2013 polls to 2016

MANILA - A Palace spokesman said it is too early to talk about the 2016 polls amid speculation that the 2013 polls is a preview of the next presidential election.

"At this point, it’s still too early to say—too early to comment on 2016. We are focused on working for the next three years, focused on ensuring that the reform agenda of the President will be pushed with greater stride… and to make sure that our social programs meant for the upliftment of our impoverished will be implemented fully for the next three years," Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

Some analysts have speculated that the 2016 elections would see Vice-President Jojo Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) going up against Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas.

Binay defeated Roxas in a tight 2010 vice-presidential race, although Roxas has a pending electoral protest.

Binay has said he will run for president in 2016, while Roxas has kept mum about his plans.

Senator Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party (LP), however, has said the LP's bet will be Roxas, the party's president who is on leave.

Meantime, Lacierda said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be able to make good on its word that it would be proclaiming winning senators within the day and resolve issues on lags in transmission of results.

“We expect the Comelec to resolve those issues. But it’s a lag in transmission. They say that they will be able to proclaim today. We hope that the Comelec will be able to explain themselves the reasons for the lag and their confidence in proclaiming the winners tonight. That we will leave to the Comelec to answer,” he said. -- with a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News