3 top presidential contenders pick same day to woo Cebuanos
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Three of the top contenders for the presidency converged on Cebu to court at least 2.5 million registered voters of the city and province.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas touched base with multisectoral groups, including students. He later met with Liberal Party (LP) members, mostly local officials from the Visayas.
Sen. Grace Poe reached out to students as well, and ordinary people, through radio interviews.
Vice President Jejomar Binay, on the other hand, went to the southern Cebu cities of Talisay and Toledo.
Winning margin
They appeared to be trying to endear themselves to Cebuanos who gave Gloria Arroyo a winning margin of one million votes in the 2004 elections.
In 2010, Cebuanos also delivered the vote to President Aquino and to Roxas, his running mate, who was eventually trounced by Binay.
Although he considers the Visayas his bailiwick, Roxas sought to bring the “daang matuwid” (straight path) to Cebuanos through a dialogue attended by Secretaries Butch Abad, Dinky Soliman and Janette Garin at the Cebu Normal University on Monday morning.
Wearing the LP yellow and black shirts, Roxas and the Cabinet secretaries urged the audience to shun “corruption” and continue what President Aquino had begun.
“We need to defend daang matuwid. There are those who want to return to that dark and dusty road of the past. Why? In that system, they were famous and they could easily show off. That’s the trapo-style of governance,” Roxas told the audience.
He criticized those seeking a government position for the sake of holding a position.
“There are also those who want to govern although without any clear plans. They do not have a definite outlook or programs for our country. In short, mamamasyal lang (they’re out for a ride),” Roxas said.
Roxas, the LP’s standard-bearer, later joined President Aquino for the “Gathering of Friends” at the Cebu Coliseum organized by party allies in Cebu.
He was formally introduced to LP members from the Visayas and Mindanao.
Poe started her day in Cebu visiting three radio stations owned by the big networks, then graced the Foundation Week celebration of the University of San Carlos.
But school authorities barred the media from the campus so “as not to politicize the event.”
Just a coincidence
Poe said it was just a coincidence that her visit, which was scheduled two weeks ago, happened at the same time as Binay’s and Roxas’.
“Cebu is big and it is important for our countrymen in Cebu to know that their needs are also important. We should not only focus on Metro Manila,” she said.
During the interview over dyAB, Poe appealed for the “intelligent support” of Cebuano voters who made her No. 3 senator in the province in the 2013 election.
Poe assured Cebuanos she would make her decision soon, adding that it also took her a while to decide to run for senator in 2013 despite prodding from her father’s supporters.
Binay, who lost in Cebu in 2010, arrived on Sunday and held boodle fights in Barangays (villages) Punta Engaño in Lapu-Lapu City and Barrio Luz, Camputhaw, Calamba, Mambaling and Sawang Calero in Cebu City.
