Binay considering Cebuano for UNA senatorial slate

Vice President Jejomar Binay said he plans to include a Cebuano in the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial slate in the 2016 elections.

“Mahirap na huwag isipin ang Cebu dahil 2.3 million ang voters dito (It’s hard not to think of Cebu because there are 2.3 million voters here),” he told reporters in last week’s visit to Cebu.

Binay said he travels outside of Metro Manila to be with the masses who continue to support him despite the low ratings he got from the urban areas.

“Mahal ako ng masa (The masses love me),” he said. Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said Binay was obviously campaigning when he also visited areas not hit hard by supertyphoon Yolanda like Cebu City.

She said she and her Liberal Party (LP) allies aren’t worried about his campaigning.

Accidental

“Personally, I was worried because he did not attend the Senate (inquiry). As he claims, wala man kuno siya nangampanya (he didn’t campaign). As vice president, he wants to check on the welfare of the people. How can you argue with that?,” she told reporters.

Binay admitted that it’s hard to distinguish whether his trips in Cebu are work-related or political in nature.

But he denied that he was avoiding the Senate blue ribbon committee investigation linking him to irregularities in the bidding and construction of various infrastructure projects in Makati City during his tenure as mayor.

Binay said he visited Cebu to attend to local concerns like the welfare of families living in province-owned lots in Cebu City that were covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1.

He said he is also coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on the identification of areas in typhoon hit Bantayan Island which the National Housing Authority (NHA) could use to build new houses.

“It’s all accidental but that’s the truth,” he told reporters.