Other Mar Roxas withdraws, has request for namesake in LP

Manuel Antonio Roxas wore a yellow shirt when he came to the Commission on Elections' main office in Intramuros, Manila on Thursday afternoon.

His shirt, however, had a purple collar instead of black. It said "Dirty Manny" instead of Mar, the nickname of his more prominent namesake, the administration candidate Manuel Araneta "Mar" Roxas II.

Shrugging off the similarity of color with a laugh, the 67-year-old said he is not to be mistaken with the Liberal Party presidential candidate, who filed a disqualification case against him because of the similarity of their names.

Manuel Antonio also wrote Mar Roxas as his nickname when he filed his COC for president on October 16.

The retired policeman from Quezon City admitted he filed his certificate of candidacy to draw attention to the plight of his 36-year-old son, who he said was wrongfully convicted of rape.

"Puwede po bang sabihin ko na nagwi-withdraw na ako sa pagkandidato?" Manuel Antonio said during the preliminary conference when asked if he received the summons and if he had documents to show that he wasn't a nuisance candidate.

He repeated the statement and then added, "Para hindi na po ako mag-create ng problema."

Manuel Antonio was told he would have to formally withdraw his COC before the Comelec law department, which filed a petition against him and 124 other presidential aspirants whose candidacies were deemed "nuisance."

He and his wife proceeded to so after his turn at the conference.

LP pres'l bet Mar Roxas' namesake, Mar Antonio Roxas: Aatras na ako; may gusto lang akong hingin para sa anak ko. pic.twitter.com/7K8m8ztUEi

— R-A. Dioquino (@AicaDioquino) November 5, 2015

No problem if disqualified

Mar Antonio told reporters he wasn't offended when the former interior secretary and former senator Roxas filed a petition against him.

He also seemed to agree that he may cause confusion, though added he was, indeed, a Manuel Roxas -- named by his father the late president and the LP standard-bearer's grandfather.

"Walang problema. Kung dinisqualify, okay," he said.

"May hihilingin lang ako sa kaniya (Roxas) dahil sa anak kong nakakulong. Baka sakaling pagbigyan niya ako," Mar Antonio said.

They may be relatives, though he added, "Mga tatay namin ang nakakaalam nu'n."

His wife Erlinda, said said she didn't agree with her husband's decision to file his COC.

She said they argued about it.  She told him he wasn't capable.

"Masyadong mataas ang posisyon na 'yan," Erlinda said.

But he went for it anyway for their son.

Son convicted in 2000

Erlinda said their son was 20 when he was convicted in 2000.

He is now 36, though because of mental retardation, he still has the mindset of a 10-year-old.

Erlinda gets to visit every week, to give him some money and supplies, which are split with fellow inmates, who take care of him there.

"Sabi nila sa akin, 'Sandali pa lang namin nakilala ang anak mo, alam naming wala siyang kasalanan,'" she told GMA News Online.

Erlinda said Roxas' lawyers sought them about her husband's candidacy.

They told them they meant no harm, then presented the case of their son, asking for help.

"Sabi nila they will look into it," she said.

And as her husband finally went with her advice, she said she hopes it will help move her son's case forward. —NB, GMA News