Roxas compares self to Batman in response to Miriam's 'elitist' question

Administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II on Sunday shrugged off the overriding impression that his elitist upbringing in an impoverished nation could hurt his chances of winning the presidency in May.

During the final presidential debate in Pangasinan, Roxas borrowed lessons from comic superhero Batman in responding to Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago's question if his path to Malacañang would be "too narrow" due to his privileged background.

"As Batman said, it is not important how you came to this world. What is important is what you did with your life. And my life over the last 20 years has been a public record," Roxas said.

The Liberal Party bet is a scion of the old rich Roxas-Araneta clan, whose business interests include real estate and leisure and entertainment. Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, used his position as the heir to the Wayne Enterprises fortune to become a crime-fighting vigilante.

He said Santiago had been witness to some "elements" of his life such as pushing for economic opportunities and cheaper medicines and fighting unscrupulous practices of pre-need planholders when he was a lawmaker.

Roxas and Santiago worked together in the Senate from 2004 to 2010.

Roxas also thinks he fits the bill of an ideal president which Santiago said should be someone who has a record of academic, professional and moral excellence.

An alumnus of the prestigious Wharton business school, Roxas said he was one of those who examined the viability of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which the Senate ratified in 2008.

He also said he has never been connected to any controversy in his 23 years in public service.

"My record stands for itself.  It's not a question of how I came into this world. It's how what I did with life and how I dedicated my life to help our countrymen," Roxas said. —JST, GMA News