VICE President Jejomar Binay said Friday he will offer his track record as Makati mayor and as vice president to the people in the coming presidential elections, adding the people would not be swayed by the “political propaganda” against him.
“The people will not be swayed by the corruption allegations hurled against me,” Binay said in a statement.
Binay, who is keen on running in the 2016 elections, said he was confident the people would pick a leader with agood track record.
“Ang pipiliin ng mamamayang Pilipino iyong may karanasan at kakayahan sa pamamahala – karanasan at kakayahan na nagdulot ng magandang resulta, katulad po ng tinatamasa ng mga taga-Makati,” Binay said in a statement.
He made the statement after a recent Social Weather Stations survey showed that he was still the top choice to replace President Benigno Aquino III in 2016 despite a one-percent drop in his ratings—to 36 percent from 37 percent in December.
Senator Grace Poe was behind Binay with 31 percent after a 10-percent increase in her ratings from 21 percent in December.
Binay’s public satisfaction rating dropped to +31 (satisfied percentage minus dissatisfied percentage) in the first quarter of 2015. It had dipped 13 points from +44 in December. This was also the fourth straight quarter in which Binay’s ratings dropped since his +73 in March 2014.
When Binay was appointed Makati mayor after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, he took over a municipality that had P190 million annual revenue and about P200 million debt.
Binay then instituted reforms, implementing fiscal discipline and sound management practices that helped transform a bankrupt Makati to the country’s premier city.
Under his leadership, Makati provided free public education from elementary to high school and highly subsidized college education for residents at the University of Makati.
Graduates were also assured of employment through the university’s dualized education system.
Binay’s accomplishments in Makati propelled him to be named one of the top mayors of the world.
“Ang sabi nila wala raw akong magagawa. Pero naipakita ko naman po. Wala pong makapagsasabing hindi namin napaganda ang buhay sa Makati,” he said.
A few months after he assumed office as vice president, Binay was appointed Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ Concerns and chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.