Escudero: Only admin is capable of cheating, but…

Vice presidential aspirant Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday said only the administration was capable of cheating in the May 9 polls.

“Ang may kakayahan lang mandaya, administrasyon. Walang iba,” Escudero said in a forum in Quezon City, when asked if Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas was capable of cheating in the elections.

(Only the administration has the capability to cheat, no one else.)

Escudero also expressed doubts over preference surveys, which he said can be a tool for “mind conditioning.”

“Paano natin babantayan para makatiyak na hindi mangyayari ang anumang uri ng milagro o dayaan? ‘Yun ang nakakatakot at nakakapangamba minsan sa mga survey na naglalabasan mula sa kung anu-anong grupo na kaliwa’t kanan,” Escudero said.

(How are we going to guard cheating [in the elections] and make sure nothing wrong will take place? That’s what we fear the most and it’s alarming how these surveys coming out from various groups left and right.)

“Baka nagma-mind conditioning lamang sila kaugnay sa gusto nilang maging resulta sa halalan,” he added.

(They could be conditioning the minds in relation to the kind of results they want for the elections.)

Escudero, erstwhile front-runner in the vice presidential race, was trailing behind his rivals Rep. Leni Robredo and Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in recent opinion polls. His running mate Sen. Grace Poe was also lagging behind Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who maintained a double-digit lead over rivals for the presidency.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by ABS-CBN, Roxas edged out Poe by one percentage point, for a virtual tie in second place.

READ: Roxas thanks Filipinos for rise in latest Pulse survey

But Escudero answered “no” when asked if he thinks President Benigno Aquino III and his anointed candidate will allow cheating on May 9.

“Hindi ako close kay Secretary Roxas. Kaya ko lamang magsalita sa pagkakakilala ko kay Pangulong Aquino. Ang sagot ko ay hindi. At umaasa ako na hindi at hindi siya nagbago,” he said.

(I am not close to Secretary Roxas. I can only speak based on how I know President Aquino. My answer is no. And I am hoping it’s a ‘no’ and he [Aquino] won’t change.)

“Sa dulo, buo ang kumpiyansa ko sa ating mga kababayan. Maski nga sa sabungan, may tumataya pa rin sa dehado. Ang tao tataya sa kung sino talaga ang kursonada nila, hindi kung sino lang ang nagkataong llamado o dehado sa particular na pagkakataon ng halalan,” Escudero added.

(In the end, I have confidence in our countrymen. Even in cockfighting, there are those who place their bets for the underdogs. The people will bet on those who they really want, not those who are leading or at a disadvantage in a particular phase in the elections.) TVJ