United Opposition (UNO) vice presidential candidate and Makati Mayor Jojo Binay is now tie with front-runner Senator Mar Roxas in the latest opinion survey of the Social Weather Station (SWS).
Binay’s rating dramatically surged by 12 percentage points to 37 percent in the SWS poll conducted from May 2 to 3 among 2,400 respondents, from 25 percent he posted from April 16 to 19.
Support for the UNO vice presidential bet’s main rival, however, declined 2 percentage points from the 39 percent he received in the previous SWS opinion survey.
Senator Loren Legarda of Nacionalista Party, who was once on the second spot, further slipped with 12 percent, down by 50 percent from the previous poll.
Reacting to the SWS poll, Binay thanked the people for their trust and said the survey is a reflection of the people’s aspiration for a genuine change in the administration.
“This only shows the people’s clamor for a genuine change in the government,” Binay said. “The people know the true opposition who will fight for them and effect the real change in this country.”
According to Binay, he is confident that his numbers will continue to go up leading to the May 10 elections.
“The voters will always choose the candidates with a solid track record for the poor and genuine concern for the people and that’s what we represent,” the UNO vice presidential bet said.
Binay’s surge in rating towards the end of the 90-day campaign period that started in February was largely due the endorsement of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero which came out on television and radio before the survey was conducted.
He was also supported by two party-list groups, Ang Ladlad, the first gay political organization in Asia to seek a congressional seat, and the United Masses for Democracy and Justice, which backed former President Joseph Estrada’s candidacy in 1998. Binay also received the endorsement of his fellow local chief executives.
Binay’s solid program for the poor and the masses, as well as his consistent stand against the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT), which Roxas sponsored, has been found appealing by the public.
