AS soon as the surveys came out to show who was taking the lead or lagging behind the presidential race, bitter archrivals Vice President Jejomar Binay of opposition United Nationalist Alliance and Manuel Roxas II of administration’s Liberal Party immediately engaged in a word war.
Shortly after Pulse Asia released its findings Friday that Binay took the top spot and shared the lead with equally frontrunner Senator Grace Poe, Roxas intensified his attacks against Binay, describing his style of governance a “revert to the dirty old past leadership.”
Binay shot back and reminded Roxas that by attempting to challenge him again, Roxas may be repeating history of suffering from defeat.
Roxas ran but lost to Binay by 700,000 votes in the 2010 vice presidential race. The two are again squaring off in the 2016 presidential polls.
“You said, VP Binay, that you will do to the Philippines what you did to Makati. Oh please don’t! It will be so sad if the Philippines will have to suffer the thievery that you did in Makati,” Roxas said.
Binay retorted: “You all know Mr. Roxas does not want to stop making accusations. I will repeat, Mr. Roxas, an accusation is not a fact. I can also accuse you: you have many irregularities at the [Department of Transportation and Communications] and your signature is there.
“But I will not accuse you because it is wrong to make accusations just so you can destroy a person.”
Binay said Roxas was getting desperate and was only trying to demonize him in an attempt to make the latter’s poor rating improve at his expense.
The Roxas camp also “maliciously” linked Binay to former Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and tagged the duo as the “dream team of cheaters,” he said.
Binay vehemently denied knowing Garcillano, who was made infamous by the so-called Hello Garci scandal where then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spoke with the Comelec official at the height of the 2004 presidential elections, which Mrs. Arroyo won.
“My opponents are getting nervous. Maybe they want their ratings to go up. But please, not at my expense. They are getting desperate. Maybe that’s what they are doing. Maybe they are the ones who summoned [Garcillano] to Malacañang. I don’t know him, I don’t talk to him, I don’t see him.
“These are all lies that they are peddling. Because they are now nothing. They are already losers because of they just say what their minds come up with,” Binay said.
Binay’s communications director Joey Salgado said it was preposterous for the Roxas camp to cry cheating against Binay, who is an opposition candidate, when it was the Roxas camp that has access to all government resources.
“Wow, first time that the administration is crying that they would be cheated in the elections. But who has control and is actually using government resources, among others?” Salgado said.
As Binay thanked the administration allies who abandoned Roxas and defected to Binay, Roxas, on the other hand, branded them as “political turncoats.”
He warned his remaining allies that, “If you are not with us, you are against us and the Straight Path.”
Roxas issued the warning after Talisay, Cebu Mayor Johnny delos Reyes left the LP fold for Binay.
“It is a good thing that he showed his true colors. It was better that he left if he is not in anyway with us in Daang Matuwid [Straight Path], where our principle is for good governance,” Roxas said.
“Those who are not with Daang Matuwid want the old ways and dirty leadership. That makes it easier for our countrymen to choose their next leaders,” he added.
Roxas also lashed at 27 of his allies, mostly incumbent mayors and vice mayors in Bohol, who turned opposition and forged alliances to form the Bohol United Opposition to back Binay.
Historically, Binay said, his ratings go up two months before the elections, most especially in the last two weeks into the polls.
“Vice President Binay remains grateful for the trust and support of our people. He is offering to them a decisive and compassionate presidency that will address their concerns, with poverty being his top priority,” said Binay spokesman Rico Quicho.
“We expect that with every rise in the survey results, the demolition by perception being waged by lethargic candidates will intensify. The Vice President will not be distracted from his determination to serve the people,” he said.
Roxas said that such movements in political alliances, especially in the local level, are no longer a surprise.
“[We], the Team Daang Matuwid, remain solid and united in fighting for good governance,” he said. “We are standing on the solid foundation of ‘Daang Matuwid’, our kababayans have felt the benefits of good governance through our programs.”
Roxas said the Daang Matuwid enrolled 4.5 million Filipinos under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program that helped 330,000 high school students graduate last year, and expanded the coverage of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to 6.5 million patients.
“These are concrete data, not wishes and promises as what other candidates are making right now, to win votes. We have done these already and I will fight for it, no matter what,” Roxas said.
“We have proven that if funds are not stolen by corrupt officials, progress will cascade down to those who have less in life. So, let us not allow those who are enemies of ‘Daang Matuwid’ to revert the country to old ways,” he added.
But Binay insisted that voters will see through the lies of Roxas. “I think history is going to be repeated,” he said.
“Even before, they have been desperate. However, no matter how hard they try to destroy me, accusing me left and right of baseless charges, peddling lies against me, their ratings don’t go up. They’re just losers,” Binay said.