Pe’s poll case lowers rank in BO-PK survey

An in-house survey which Rep. Tomas Osmeña commissioned showed that he is losing in eight of Cebu City’s 51 urban barangays while his rival and incumbent Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama lost in 47 barangays.

“All of my surveys are very accurate. I can even name sitios where I will lose,’ he said. Two of his candidates in the south district including third term north district Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. who will seek election in the south didn’t land in the top 8.

Osmeña admitted that the recent Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualification ruling on Pe affected his standing in the survey commissioned by the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK).

Osmeña said they are intensifying their information dissemination especially among their political leaders to correct this misconception.

He said two other candidates in the north district whom he didn’t name need to work harder to make it to the top 8. Rama brushed aside the survey results.

“If you compare his survey with the pulong pulongs that we do, we continue to get a huge crowd,” Rama said in a separate interview.

Even the interventions which Osmeña supposedly made like stranding some buses which ferried supporters to the Feb. 12 United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) Cebu proclamation rally is an indicator of who has more supporters, Rama said.

The mayor said all Team Rama candidates are also winning in their surveys. But he would not give details as to when and who commissioned the survey.

“Normally I do not share our survey results especially since the campaign period has yet to start. If the survey parameters are incorrect, how come I became mayor?.” Rama said.

Osmeña said in a press conference held at his Guadalupe home yesterday morning that he commissioned a survey with 11,000 respondents from the 51 urban barangays – 29 in the north district and 22 in the south.

The 10-day survey didn’t include respondents belonging to class A and B.

But he was confident that he is the more preferred mayoral candidates by these voters as shown in a previous previous election when he ran for mayor.

“Historically, except for my first election, I’m very strong with the AB voters,’ said Osmeña.

Results of the BOPK survey showed that he lost in four north barangays which include Ermita, Lahug and Sambag 1.

The three barangays are under the leadership of Team Rama candidates caJerry Guardo (Sambag 1), councilor Mary Ann delos Santos (Lahug) and councilor Felicisimo Rupinta (Ermita).

Osmeña said he also lost in four barangays in the south which include Basak San Nicolasa and Basak Pardo.

Basak San Nicolas is under the mayor’s cousin, barangay captain George Rama.

The congressman’s wife and re-electionist councilor Margot Osmeña (South) and former councilor Nestor Archival (north) are shoo-ins.

In the vice mayoral race, BO-PK candidate and incumbent Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young also continues to maintain his lead against Team Rama candidate and third term councilor Edgar Labella.

Labella said he continues to have a good standing in Team Rama surveys which he claimed is more credible because this is done by an independent body led by a former politician.