By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
VICE President Jejomar Binay yesterday literally walked in the park yesterday, a day after results of a Pulse Asia survey showed him regaining his lead among the presidential candidates.
Binay, who spent the night in the city to grace the capitol’s Christmas party, was in high spirits as he led a group in a 10-thousand step morning walk around the de Lara Park near the capitol.
A day earlier, he spoke before a labor group in Macabalan. He was accompanied here by his son Erwin “Junjun” Binay, the mayor of Makati City.
Accompanying him at the park yesterday were Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, Cagayan de Oro Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas, and their supporters.
The ailing ex-mayor Vicente Emano, the founder and leader of the opposition party Padayon Pilipino here, subsequently joined Binay at the capitol grounds for a “boodle fight.”
Binay told reporters he was in high spirits, and that he was elated over the latest Pulse Asia survey results.
Results of the latest survey made public on Tuesday showed Binay regaining his lead among presidential candidates.
In the survey, conducted from Dec. 4 to Dec. 11, Binay was the choice of 33 percent of the 1,800 respondents who were registered voters from across the country.
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte placed second with 23 percent and Sen. Grace Poe ranked third with 21 percent.
Former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II placed fourth with 17 percent, while Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago was fifth with four percent.
Binay said the survey results were a vindication as far as he was concerned, and only showed that many Filipinos see the accusations of graft and corruption against his family as “lies.”
“Dahil na man sa ganda ng survey, ang lahat na paninira sa pagkatao ko, at sa aking pamilya ay lahat hindi totoo, at puro lang kasinongalingan,” Binay said.
He said the Pulse Asia survey results encouraged him to step up his campaign for the presidency in 2016, and address the many social ills besetting the masses across the country.
“I have been talking to people as I go around the country, and I see many of them wallowing in poverty. We need to address the problem on poverty immediately,” Binay said.
On Tuesday, Binay told national television that he had expected a return to the top of the ratings, and that he remained bullish despite the backlash created by the allegations of corruption against him and his family.
Roxas, meanwhile, said the survey results did not bother him as what is important is the election in May next year.
In a survey conducted from Oct. 18-29 by Pulse Asia, 39 percent of the 3,400 respondents chose Poe. Binay placed second with 24 percent.
Administration bet Roxas placed with third with 21 percent. Santiago placed fourth with 11 percent.
During the Oct.18-29 survey, Duterte was not a candidate for president yet. It was only this month that he filed a certificate of candidacy as presidential bet of the PDP-Laban in lieu of Martin Dino. (with reports from mindanews)
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