Question: How come “Daang Matuwid” is printed beside the first names of Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo? Is this a form of cheating?
Answer: NO. It is a strategy by the Liberal Party. Mar and Leni purposely wrote the words “Daang Matuwid” in their Certificate of Candidacy.
Yes I know people will argue that “Daang Matuwid” is not the middle name of either Mar or Leni. However, it should be noted that said space in the ballot is not intended for middle names of the candidates. Rather, it is a space allotted for their nicknames or stage names. The composition of the names is Last Name, First name or Nickname, and acronym of their political party. So looking at the sample ballots, it would seem that Mar wrote “Mar Daang Matuwid” as his nickname or stage name. (See sample ballot below).
Moreover, if you check the ballots, it appears that other candidates used the same strategy as well. Let’s look at some names of the senatoriables:
- DOMAGOSO, Isko Moreno
- KAPUNAN, Atty. Lorna
- LACSAMANA, Alma Moreno
- PAEZ, Mr. Coop
However as to some reports on why the boxes containing the names of Mar and Leni are already shaded, this is a different scenario. This is not allowed. This should not be done as it can make the PCOS nullify the votes for other Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates but count the same if Mar and Leni are chosen. I hope this alleged incident is not true.