Binay leads Roxas by 18%

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s latest Pulse Asia ratings of 31 percent of 1,200 voters still puts him 18 percent ahead of second placer Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas whose own presidential bid is supported by 13 percent of Filipinos.

Binay’s numbers are down 10 points from 41 percent in the Ulat ng Bayan survey in June, amid recent corruption-related controversies into reported overpricing in the Makati City Hall Building II.

Vice-President Binay recorded a higher 33 percent in the rest of Metro Manila and Mindanao votes while he got 32 percent in Luzon.

Professor Ronnie Holmes, president of Pulse Asia, observed that the charges against Vice-President Binay came too early and  he has almost 2 years to recover his higher ratings. He said that Binay has enough time to answer and make people forget about these issues come election day. Holmes also said Binay is the only politician who has declared his plans for 2016.

For University of the Philippines (UP) Political Science Professor Jean Franco, Binay’s ratings could mean that people are still remembering his performance when he was still a Makati mayor. She feels that this reflects sentiment that people can excuse corruption for so long as the official delivers public service.

Professor Edmund Tayao also observed that no other presidentiables come close to Binay, leading 31 percent rating. 

The September Pulse Asia survey shows Mar Roxas in second place ahead of Miriam D. Santiago, Mayor Erap Estrada and Senator Grace Poe. Roxas’ numbers went up as he had only 7 percent in the June survey.

In a surprise slide, Senator Grace Poe went down from 12 percent in July to 10 percent in September. She recorded, however, a high 31 percent in the vice-presidential race.

Senator Chiz Escudero who placed second in the vice-presidential survey said it is too early to consider the survey results.

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Against term extension

A Pulse Asia survey in Metro Manila showed that only 30 percent out of 300 respondents favored a term extension for President Aquino.

However, about the same percentage were against allowing President to have another term in office while 27 percent were undecided.

On Tuesday, a full page ad was published in both the Philippine STAR and the Philippine Daily Inquirer calling for a second term for President Aquino.

A source told the STAR the poll was apparently commissioned by “somebody in the administration” and was just one question included in the entire poll of Pulse Asia on other issues.

Malacañang denied authorship of the ad.

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Purisima, incredible

Senator Sergio Osmeña said Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima was incredible when he testified that 3 contractors donated P11 million to construct a chief’s official quarters, dubbed the White House, inside Camp Crame, estimated to cost at least P25 million.

Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the committee on public order also expressed disbelief on Purisima’s claim that he bought a 4.7 hectare lot in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija for only P150,000.

Purisima also stated in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) that the house and lot at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija cost only P3.750 million. Realty experts gave it a value of as high as P50 million since it had a floor area of 204 square meters, with other building erected in the lot.

In his testimony, Purisima also claimed he bought a Toyota Land Cruiser for only P1.5 million, getting a P2-million discount from the Toyota dealer in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Note that the PNP is set to buy 2,000 police cars.

Purisima also owns a Toyota Alphard which costs P3.2 million; a Hyundai Starex which costs P2 million; a Toyota Hilux costing P1.4 million; and a Toyota Innova which cost P1 million.

Purisima declared a net worth of only P6.5 million in 2013.

There are suspicions that high ranking officers receive a monthly pay-off from gambling and drug lords.

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De Lima for senator

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is open to running for senator in 2016 as she made it to the 11-15th place in the Pulse Asia survey with a 35.3 percent support from the voting public.

Despite her inclusion in the list, De Lima stressed that she has not yet decided whether to run in the 2016 elections, saying there’s still a lot of work at the Department of Justice (DOJ) that needs her attention. 

“My attitude really is to leave it up to the future. Whether it’s in another branch of government or out of government, I would not know what will happen to me in 2016,”De Lima told reporters.           

She said she has not talked to the President about it yet.