Binay refuses to accept defeat, says latest polls confusing

By: Marc Jayson Cayabyab - 9 years ago

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

Refusing to accept defeat, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he is getting confused with the surveys where he is steadily slipping while his opponents are gaining ground.

“Kahapon lang sinabi ng Pulse, 29 (percent) si Senator Poe, 26 si Jojo Binay, 19 si Mar. Kinabukasan iba nanaman pala! Parehas dun sa SWS (Social Weather Stations) na anlaki ng deperensya,” Binay said in an ambush interview after he delivered his speech at the National Unity Party (NUP) convention on Monday.

Binay made this reaction after he slipped to third place in the latest Pulse Asia survey released Monday on the preferred successor of President Benigno Aquino III.

READ: Poe leads Pulse Asia poll; Roxas, Binay, Duterte ‘tied’ in 2nd place

In the latest “Ulat ng Bayan” Pulse Asia survey conducted Sept. 8-14, Binay got 19 percent of 2,400 respondents choosing him as Aquino’s successor.

But he was surpassed by Senator Grace Poe, who led at 26 percent, and even former Interior Sec. Mar Roxas, who placed second at 20 percent.

Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who asked for more time to think about his 2016 plans even after he has categorically denied running for president in 2016, fell at fourth place with 16 percent.

Technically, with a margin of error of ± 2%, Roxas, Binay and Duterte are tied in second place.

For the latest Pulse Asia survey, the respondents were asked: “Of the people on this list, whom would you vote for as President/Vice President of the Philippines if the 2016 elections were held today and they were candidates? You may mention others not included in this list.”

Binay said there are other surveys which found him the top choice for president in 2016.

“Sabi naman sa survey ng Radio Mindanao Network, number one naman ako. Yung mga ibang survey, number one, number two ako. Palagay ko pare-pareho na tayong naguguluhan sa mga survey. Magulo di ba?” Binay said.

Binay also failed to get the support of a particular island group. The survey results showed that each island group in the country has its own preferred presidential bet: Poe is the leading choice of respondents from Metro Manila (26 percent) and Luzon (31 percent); Roxas leads in his hometown Visayas (34 percent); while Duterte is the top choice for Mindanaoans (29 percent).

Binay maintained that he is not threatened even if he was surpassed by Poe and even if Roxas is steadily gaining ground in the latest surveys.

“Basta ako po ay kandidato sa pagkapangulo. Kung anuma’t anuman, basta dadagdagan ko pa ang aking pagtatrabaho, pagpapaliwanag kung bakit ako ang dapat ihalal na pangulo,” Binay said.

In a separate Pulse Asia survey conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 3, Binay slipped to second place with 21 percent of 1,200 respondents, while Poe led with 27 percent, and Roxas placed at third with 18 percent.

In another poll, this time by the Social Weather Stations conducted Sept. 2 to 5, 26 percent of 1,200 respondents were for Poe, 24 percent for Binay, and 20 percent for Roxas.

Unlike the other SWS survey released earlier in the week, the 2nd pre-election poll asked respondents to pick one name from a list of 12 possible presidential candidates.

“Among the names found in this list, who will you probably vote for as president of the Philippines if elections were held today?” the SWS survey asked. JE