Joy Adalia
Now that it is clear that Davao Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte isn’t running for president (but many people believe he might still make a last-minute pitch as a substitute candidate), who would get the votes of his supporters? Would his withdrawal from the race benefit the administration’s standard bearer or would others be getting these of votes?
It seems that depending on who is talking, any one of the major presidential candidates is going to receive those votes but for those in the Senate, only DILG Sec. Mar Roxas, Sen. Grace Poe, and Vice President Jejomar Binay are believed to benefit from Duterte’s decision. Netizens on social media might say they will be voting for Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago but many senators believe it would be Roxas or Poe who might get those votes.
When Duterte was asked by reporters about this matter, his answer was quite surprising: Binay. The mayor refused to expound on his answer, however, choosing as always to remain mysterious. It is possible, of course, that he chose Binay because the vice president had spent many hours with him on campaign sorties in Davao when it was believed that he would become Binay’s running mate yet, according to the Inquirer, Duterte insisted that such a thing was never discussed between the two of them.
It is the administration’s standard bearer, Roxas, who would benefit a lot from Duterte’s withdrawal, claims Senate President Franklin Drilon; saying, “The field is now down to three…it’s better. We are the administration. You will have two representing the opposition.”
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has a different opinion, however; he believes Poe would get the votes, supposedly based on his party’s (Magdalo) latest nationwide survey. Based on this survey, Poe will get 44.8% of the votes, Binay 28.9%, and Roxas 22.6%.
Of course, these senators could simply be picking these candidates because of their party/affiliation. After all, Drilon is under the administration and is expected to support the Liberal Party’s (LP) candidate while Trillanes is sure to support Magdalo’s bet or someone the party is endorsing which is, in this case, Poe.
But what about Sen. Santiago? Well, the final answer will be determined on the day of the elections – that is the only thing that is for sure in this race. For we’re still not even sure whether Duterte will make a surprise announcement before the Commission on Election’s (COMELEC) final December 10 deadline for the substitution of candidates.
Featured image credits: PhilNews, MBC, Canadian Inquirer, Sun Star
