Only 17 out of the 66 national candidates attended the signing of the Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent, & Honest (TRUTH) covenant spearheaded by the Archdiocese of Manila and its radio network, Radio Veritas, on Monday (May 2, 2016). According to Fr. Anton Pascual, Radio Veritas president, they have sent invitations to each of the candidates running for the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial seats but many of them were not available as they were in their respective campaign sorties. Left and middle photos show Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Vice President Jejomar Binay signing the peace covenant for the May 9 elections at the Manila Cathedral. (PNA photos by Avito C. Dalan)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday advised other presidential candidates not to celebrate yet amid their rise in the surveys.
“To the other candidates: Do not celebrate yet, good things are about to happen, Binay is coming,” lawyer Rico Quicho, the Vice President’s spokesperson, said in a press statement.
“It will be a tight race all the way to Election Day,” he added.
He said the surveys do not capture the intense ground campaigning by the Vice President’s core supporters and parallel groups nationwide.
“These efforts have intensified after April 29 which was the last day of the surveys. The final visibility push this week via motorcades, house to house campaign and sectoral events like the Indigenous
People’s summit for Binay in Cagayan de Oro last Tuesday showed the winning path for the Vice President,” he said.
He said Binay’s determination and composure energizes their ground troops “who are pounding the streets and knocking on doors as we speak.”
He echoed Binay’s optimism that history will repeat itself just like in 2010 when he won the vice presidency eventhough being behind in the surveys.
“This election will be won on the ground on election day. Let us all vote early with your family and friends,” he said.
In the Pulse Asia survey commissioned by ABS-CBN, one in three Filipinos, or 33 percent, picked Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the country’s next leader.
Liberal Party bet Mar Roxas, meanwhile, was second at 22 percent, two points better than his rating in the previous survey. He remains statistically tied with Senator Grace Poe, who garnered 21 percent, a one-point drop from her previous survey rating.
Binay remained at fourth spot with a 17 percent rating, one point lower than his rating from the previous survey. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago rounded up the list with 2 percent. (MNS)