Why Binay is winning over Roxas

The people have spoken—a minority of them, at least. Noynoy Aquino is our next president. “Vox populi est suprema lex” (The voice of the people is the supreme law), as they say. Nobody can dispute that.

I did not vote for Noynoy because I did not believe he’d be a good president. He had no competence in governance and he lacked the credentials of a leader who can move the country forward. He may be the son of Ninoy and Cory, but that’s all he is.

I had wished for anybody but Noynoy. But, as I always say, the presidency is a matter of destiny, and Noynoy was destined to be one.

Santa Banana, if Noynoy does not turn out to be the leader who moves the country forward, all I can say is that we deserve the leaders we elect into office.

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Admittedly, the biggest surprise in the election is Makati Mayor Jojo Binay, who is almost sure of becoming the next vice president. Binay is likely to beat Liberal Party vice presidential bet Senator Mar Roxas.

While poll surveys had shown the surge of Binay overtaking Mar Roxas during the last two weeks of the campaign, nobody, including myself, expected Binay to lead the actual vice presidential race.

So why Binay? I was told that during the last stretch of the campaign, the “three Stygian sisters,” (like those in the movie “Clash of the Titans”) told Noynoy supporters to campaign hard for Binay instead of Mar.

The “Stygian sisters” were not comfortable with Mar being a vice president. They knew deep in their hearts that Noynoy would be overshadowed by Mar. Roxas has all the credentials and qualifications we can hope for. He has achieved many things. You cannot say this about Noynoy.

Aside from this, I was told by LP insiders that the “Stygians sisters” were also uncomfortable with the Aranetas and their money. The Aranetas later stopped the funding, which led to a confrontation between the Noynoy and Mar strategists. The confrontation was so intense that party insiders feared a breakup between Noynoy and Mar.

Recall that Noynoy went to the extent of saying that he would share up to 80 percent of his powers with Mar if they are both elected. That statement was taken by many as reckless and irresponsible, made only to please Mar and his followers. The bottom line is that the presidency has the sole responsibility and accountability in his administration. The buck stops at the desk of the president.

In any case, when Senator Chiz Escudero announced his “Noy-Bi” preference, the “Stygian sisters” and Noynoy strategists went all-out for Binay, junking Mar Roxas. The result is now what we see in the election results with Binay ahead of Mar in the latest count.

I have always believed that Roxas made the mistake of sliding down in favor of Noynoy. He would have made a better president than Noynoy.

But that’s hindsight. Santa Banana, if Binay becomes vice president, that’s also destiny. At least he has a better track record in governance than the next president.–Emil Jurado, Manila Standard Today