Sen. Cayetano No.1 choice as Roxas’ VP – Poll

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

A poll from the Philippine Star showed that Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was the overwhelming favourite of the respondents’ hours after President Benigno Aquino III endorsed Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas as the administration presidential bet for the 2016 election.

Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas (right) anointed by President Benigno 

Aquino III last Friday at Club Filipino in San Juan City as the administration's

 presidential bet for the 2016 election.

The last Friday survey showed 46% of the respondents chose Cayetano, whileSenators Grace Poe, Escudero, Antonio Trillanes, Batangas GovernorVilma Santos, others chalked up 32%, 4%, 6%, 6%, 6% respectively.

Earlier, Senator Cayetano told reporters that feelers from the Roxas Camp confided to him the party’s intention to enlist him as Roxas’ tandem in the next year’s presidential derby.

 Cayetano, who is a member of Nationalista Party, has been ubiquitous all over the country for the past years with his PiTiK  or Presyo, Trabaho, Kita  and a prominent figure exposing the incompetence of government officials on the grisly murder of 44 police commandos in Maguindanao and the series of expose on the multi-million pesos alleged corruption of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano exposing the shenanigans of
government officials at the Senate.

The expose’ of the prolific senator at the Senate Blue Ribbon’s subcommittee hearing was believed to cause the plunged of Binay’s presidential bid surveys stocks.

In case Cayetano accepted the offer of Roxas to be his vice presidential tandem, the Taguig City based solon would be pitted primordially with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero who is rumoured to be the vice presidential team mate of Senator Grace Poe in case the lady solon runs for the presidency in 2016.

Cayetano and Escudero were technically tied on the June’s Pulse Asia vice presidential survey based on its plus and negative three (3) percent margin of error.

In that polls Poe, Escudero, Cayetano, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Camarines Sur Congresswoman Leni Robredo got 41%, 15%, 12%, 9%, 9%,1%  respectively.

PhilStar's poll

But a Cayetano supporter, who asked anonymity, told this paper that Cayetano can eclipse Escudero’s popularity when campaign period starts.

“Tapos neck and neck sila ni Chiz. May edge si sir kasi may organization na siya sa grassroots like PiTK, students at pag may sunog at calamity minsan nauuna pa siya sa local government units sa pagtulong maski mga provinces pinupuntahan agad through his emergency response dispatch team or ERD team,” she said.

She added that in the 2013 senate race, Cayetano landed at No.3 while Escudero settled at No. 4.

LP stalwarts like House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Iloilo Rep. Jerry Trenas affirmed at the hatched tandem of Roxas and Cayetano.

“"While Mar tends to be soft spoken and loathe his opponents, Alan is a fighter, aside from being an able lawyer,“ Belmonte said.

Trenas, LP organizing and membership committee’s chairman, support on the idea by citing Cayetano's untainted integrity and good track record in public service as his edge in running for the second highest position in the land.

"He will be an asset to Secretary Mar in case he is chosen as VP," Trenas said.

At the anointment of Roxas by President Aquino at Club Filipino in San Juan City, he did not name the vice presidential bet of the Liberal Party.