Aspirant denies reports he is tailing in surveys

CEBU, Philippines - An Alayon-Nacionalista Party candidate in Talisay City yesterday denied reports he is tailing in the surveys, adding that the reports were possibly designed to dampen the spirits of his supporters.

"I know where I stand. And based on the latest survey, I rank number 6. We've been working hard for it, all of us in the party – the candidates and our volunteers. So whoever is spreading these reports do not know anything at all," said Val Ylanan in an interview.

Ylanan, the first councilman of barangay Linao, believes that the reports were spread "to dampen the spirits of those who are helping me."

There is reportedly a survey released by the opposition camp, the Liberal Party, in which Ylanan was in the tail end. In that same survey, reportedly only half of the Alayon-NP– excluding Ylanan, made it to the top 10, while the other half was occupied by five of the LP candidates.

Ylanan however said they are not banking on the surveys alone, hence, "we are still working very hard until election day." But he said if he and his supporters would get something to boost their spirits while still campaigning, "it is definitely not that kind of news."

Earlier, LP mayoralty candidate Raul Bacaltos revealed that their latest data, gathered from the city's 12 barangays, showed that five of their bets were in the top 10. The 11th post was also dominated by an LP candidate, he said.

That latest survey, he explained, was part of the fruits from their nightly "pulong pulong" in every barangay, wherein they make exposes of the current administration's anomalies and failure to provide the basic services to the people. Bacaltos said the audio video presentation of what Talisay City is actually now, which they claim is a far cry to what reelectionist Mayor Socrates Fernandez is claiming, is helping them a lot in enlightening the minds of the people. The presentation, for example, shows an interview with Fernandez boasting the city's "clean water;" while the next part of the video highlights Mananga River overflowing with waste. (FREEMAN NEWS)