ISABELA, Philippines – United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) standard-bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Sunday, March 27, that he expects another strong election performance in Isabela province.
Binay celebrated Easter Sunday in the municipality of Cabagan in Isabela, the hometown of his mother.
Isabela Vice Governor Tony Pet Albano estimated that around 15,000 people, mostly from Cabagan, attended the campaign rally for Binay.
Isabela is a known bailiwick of the Vice President. In the 2010 elections, he won in the province against rival Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, getting 362,925 votes compared to Roxas' 143,561 votes.
He expects even greater support in the May polls.
"Itong Isabela, regionalistic 'to. We can expect it na ito I can say na baluarte ko talaga ito," Binay said in a chance interview with reporters.
(Isabela is a regionalistic province. We can expect a lot of votes because I can really say that this is my bailiwick.)
Records from the Commission on Elections show that Isabela has more than 800,000 registered voters.
Even though the province's governor, Faustino Dy III, is endorsing Roxas, Albano predicted that most votes would still go to Binay.
"Rest assured dito po sa probinsya ng Isabela, kahit anong gawin ng kalaban nila, si Vice President ang siguradong mananalo and we predict at least 70 to 80% votes here no matter what," Albano said.
(Rest assured that here in the province of Isabela, no matter what the Vice President's rivals do, he will definitely win and we predict at least 70 to 80% of votes in the province will be for Binay no matter what.)
"Alam naman po natin taga-dito po ang nanay ni Vice President Jejomar Binay and it is a natural tendency for all Isabeleños to unite together and give one vote for the Vice President," he added.
(As we all know, Vice President Jejomar Binay's mother hails from Cabagan, and it is a natural tendency for all Isabeleños to unite together and give one vote for the Vice President.)
Cagayan 3rd District Representative Randolph Ting also gave assurances that the Cagayan Valley Region would support Binay.
Binay added that he hopes to get majority of the so-called "Solid North" vote, spanning the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. (READ: The return of the 'juggernaut'? What Binay needs to do to win)
In his speech during the rally, the Vice President spoke mostly in Ibanag, telling the crowd that he improved the lives of residents of Makati City, where he was mayor for 21 years.
"Tinugunan ko ang problema ng kahirapan," Binay was quoted as saying in an UNA statement. "'Yung problemang kakaharapin ko bilang pangulo, [ang] problema ng kahirapan, hinarap ko 'yan sa Makati. Nung ako eh naging mayor, tumaas ang buhay ng maraming taga-Makati."
(I addressed the problem of poverty. The problem that I will face if I get elected president, the problem of poverty, I faced that in Makati. When I became mayor, I uplifted the lives of many people in Makati.)
The Vice President has been dealing with corruption allegations stemming from his time as Makati mayor, with the Commission on Audit recently finding him liable for graft and corrupt practices. Binay maintains the allegations are merely black propaganda.
Before the rally, Binay, joined by his running mate Senator Gringo Honasan and daughter Senator Nancy Binay, heard Easter Sunday Mass at the St Michael Parish Church.
Tuguegarao Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan called Binay the "son of Cabagan, Isabela." – Rappler.com