3 POLITICAL BLOCS BACK BINAY
Even as he is the only non-Bisaya among the presidentiables, Vice President Jejomar Binay has gained the support of the Cebuanos with three local parties backing his bid.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said One Cebu, Partido Panaghiusa and Team Rama have formed an alliance to support Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
One Cebu and Team Rama are led by the influential Garcia and Rama families.
Binay, who hails from Makati and the Ilocos region, is running in the race against rivals with Visayan roots: Manuel Roxas (Liberal Party) of Aklan, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago of Iloilo, Senator Grace Poe (Independent), who claims to have roots in Iloilo, and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (PDP-Laban) of Davao City.
“The political opponents are claiming that Cebu is theirs. That was before. We will stand and give our vote to Binay for President,” Rama said.
Cebu Rep. Gwen Garcia and brother, Winston Garcia, former chairman of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) said Binay was a unifying factor in the once splintered Garcia clan.
Binay was instrumental in uniting the the bickering members of the Garcia clan, said Rep. Garcia.
Winston Garcia said the 2016 election would be the first time that the Garcias agreed to support a single candidate.
Even if he is not Bisaya, Binay has shown his concern for Cebuanos, said former congressman Pablo John Garcia, another brother of Rep. Garcia.
Binay is the only candidate that has gone to almost all the municipalities in the province of Cebu. That cannot be said by the other candidates who claim to be Bisaya,” he said.
Cebuanos are unperturbed by the allegations of corruption against Binay he adds.
According to Pablo John Garcia the politically-motivated charges against Binay are not only unproven but also pale in comparison to the corruption in the administration of President Benigno Aquino.
He cited the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program, the anomalous Metro Rail Transit contracts and the Conditional Cash Transfer program.
