Binay wants a feel of public pulse, says spokesman

Vice President Jejomar Binay. FILE PHOTO

LOS BANOS, Laguna, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay is hopping from town to town in an attempt to gauge the public’s perception of him since he and his family became the subject of a Senate investigation into alleged anomalies involving government projects and unexplained wealth, a spokesman for the vice president said.

On Friday, Binay again went from one municipality to another in a two-day visit to Cavite province.

The vice president joined “boodle fights”— military style feasts in which food is laid out on banana leaves spread on long tables, with participants facing each other and eating with their bare hands—in public markets and met with senior citizen groups and local government officials.

“He’s trying to get a feel of the people’s sentiment. The Senate investigation is too hostile so he wanted to see if this has affected the public’s perception of him,” said Binay’s spokesperson, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla.

“But he is warmly received almost everywhere he goes. This strengthens his confidence that the (Senate) investigation is losing its effectivity,” he added.

Remulla would not say that Binay was already campaigning for the 2016 elections, even though he was being introduced to the crowds as “the next president.”

Members of the Binay’s staff were seen distributing shirts and cash to some people during the visits.

“It’s not a (political) strategy. That’s who he really is,” Remulla told reporters.

He noted that Binay has been going around since 2010, albeit with less attention from the media before.

“He feels most comfortable spending his time with the masses. It’s where he came from. It’s the people he aims to uplift. It’s them who need the leadership he has to offer,” Remulla added.

Binay is expected to go around the Visayas next week and visit the provinces hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Binay, according to Remulla, felt “that the worst is over for him” and preferred to focus on his job.

In Alfonso, one of the Cavite towns that Binay went to Thursday, the vice president thanked the people for standing by him.

“Ang paninira sa akin, ulo hanggang paa (I am being maligned from head to toe),” Binay said.