Roxas on leading over VP Binay in LP-commissioned survey: ‘Eh ‘di very good’

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Wednesday welcomed the results of a Liberal Party-commissoned survey showing him as the most preferred presidential candidate over Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa suporta na ipinaparating ng ating mga kababayan at ito naman ay tinatanggap ko hindi para sa akin pero para sa pangarap ng lahat ng ating mga kababayan,” Roxas said.

Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, LP’s vice chair for political affairs, said the internal survey showed that Roxas will win against Binay if the presidential race were a one-on-one fight between them.

Erice said the survey, which had 1,200 respondents from all over the country, showed Roxas getting a 53 percent rating and Binay trailing with 37 percent. The remaining 10 percent of the respondents were undecided.

“Eh ‘di very good,” Roxas said of the results.

“Hindi ko alam ang mangyayari para sa akin, tulad noon hanggang sa ngayon, iisang survey lang naman ang pinakaimportante, 'yan ang survey sa Mayo,” he added.

Endorsement

According to Erice, President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement has helped pull up Roxas' ratings.

The survey did not include Senator Grace Poe, the frontrunner in recent Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia surveys, as she has yet to declare her intention to run for president next year, Erice said.

Meanwhile, Roxas' party-mate in LP, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., expressed confidence that Roxas will “do well” in the presidential race even as the other rumored presidential bets have yet to declare their candidacy.

Belmonte, a party official, also said Roxas has the edge over Binay and Poe. “I stand confident that Mar, who’s very obviously the most qualified person here, would do well,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Erice's fantasy

In a separate interview, ACT-Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio laughed off the results of the LP-commissioned survey as a fantasy of Erice.

“Congressman Erice is entitled to his fantasies. Kahit anong mga resulta ang binabanggit niya [ay] wala naman yatang kinalaman sa reyalidad,” he said.

Tinio said a one-on-one fight between Roxas and Binay is far-fetched considering there are other politicians eyeing a presidential run.

Binay, meanwhile, just laughed off the results of the survey.

"Andami kong nakain, baka mailuwa ko pa 'yun sa biro mo," Binay told reporters when asked on his reaction to the survey. —Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez and Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News