Manila race tight; Binay leads early vs Peña

Two of the most closely watched mayoralty contests in Metro Manila expectedly turned out to be neck-and-neck races, according to the initial results tallied by the Inquirer based on the Commission on Elections transparency server.

In Manila, reelectionist Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s lead over his closest rival, former Mayor Alfredo Lim, was at a slim 88 votes as of 8:30 p.m. Monday night.

With 43.44 percent of the ballots counted, Estrada had 162,677 votes compared to Lim’s 162,589 votes.  Another major candidate, Rep. Amado Bagatsing, was at a distant third with 96,166 votes.

In the vice mayoralty race, Estrada’s running mate, Honey Lacuna, had a more commanding lead with 154,775 votes compared to her closest rival, Ali Atienza, who had 128,126 votes. Atienza was initially listed as Bagatsing’s running mate but Lim took him under his wing a week before the polls.

In Makati City, incumbent Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña was trailing Rep. Abigail “Abby” Binay by 7,327 votes.

With 44.13 percent of the ballots tabulated as of 8:30 p.m., Binay—daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay and sister of the former city mayor, Junjun—had 90,873 votes compared to Peña’s 83,546 votes.

Leading in the vice mayoral race was Binay’s running mate, Monique Lagdameo with 100,003 votes. In second place was Peña’s running mate, Karla Mercado, with 62,011 votes.

Abby made to wait

Representative Binay was politely told to wait in line when she cast her vote at the San Jose Elementary School on Monday.

At 11 a.m., Binay, accompanied by her husband, businessman Luis Campos who is hoping to take over her seat in Congress, arrived at the polling precinct in Barangay Guadalupe Nuevo and headed straight for the table where the Board of Election Inspectors were seated. But a watcher from her own party, United Nationalist Alliance,  told her to go to the next room and wait for her turn.

After a five-minute wait, Binay finally cast her vote. She was met outside the precinct by reporters who asked her about allegations of rampant vote-buying in the city on the eve of the elections.

Alluding to her rival, incumbent Mayor  Peña, Binay said: “I’m really curious where they got the money that they’re distributing to the voters. Like I said earlier, before they accuse us of being corrupt, they should first look in the mirror.”

Her claim, however, was denied by Peña who told reporters that “we do not have the means to buy votes.”

He threw the allegation back at her, saying he had heard of reports about Binay’s camp gathering voters and handing them money. “My leadership is all about pure volunteerism,” Peña said, adding that he was certain he would win because of his “Bagong Makati” advocacy.

Erap again claims it’s his ‘last hurrah’

In Manila, reelectionist Mayor Estrada tried to project confidence by saying that his certain victory this year would be his “last hurrah” in politics, a remark he also made in the 2013 polls when he defeated then Mayor Lim.

Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot at Padre Burgos Elementary School on Altura Street in Sta. Mesa, Estrada said “this is my last hurrah, to [leave] a legacy, to bring back Manila to its glory. And also to revive the name we used for our policemen—“Manila’s Finest.”

Meanwhile, Bagatsing claimed he had personally received reports of rampant vote-buying and harassment occurring in different areas of the city. “They (the people behind it) can’t accept that the citizens of Manila are already fed up with them,” he said. With reports from Apec Sta. Ana, John Cyril Yee, Katrine Tenia, Adceline Amilhamja, Airei Kim Guanga and Katrine Tenia