Liberal Party presidential standard bearer Mar Roxas will barnstorm Bohol tomorrow, Wednesday, April 20, 2016 and is expected to regain lost ground in the province where he handily beat Vice President Jejomar Binay in the 2010 elections for vice president.
Roxas will be banking on the vaunted strength of the Liberal Party machinery led by Governor Chatto to derail a possible Duterte victory in Bohol.
Roxas’ campaign schedule will bring him to the towns of Pilar, Alicia and Ubay and is reported to join the rally with Liberal Party candidates in the Tagbilaran City led by Tagbilaran City Mayor Geesnell “Baba” Yap.
However, the 2016 Holy Name University Bohol Poll Survey showed Roxas running second to Duterte by 14% but is ahead of Binay by 13%.
Roxas scored big in Tagbilaran City and the 1st district with 23% and 27% respectively but was lagging against Duterte’s 49% in Tagbilaran City and 42% in the 1st district. Binay scored 6% and 13% in Tagbilaran City and 1st district respectively.
In Ubay, Roxas will have to contend with the huge crowd estimated at 8,000 that mobbed Duterte during a rally on April 3, 2016 and is considered the turf of incumbent 2nd district Congressman Aristitotle “Aris” Aumentado.
Aumentado and Roxas parted ways over an alleged scheduling mix-up that was overblown leading into a political spat that remained unresolved.
Aumentado, an NPC candidate for congressman who initially supported Roxas presidential bid is now leading the Bohol United Opposition backing up Binay and Marcos.
Despite the leadership of Aumentado in the 2nd district with a margin of error of +/- 10, Roxas, Duterte and Binay are in a statistical tie with 33%, 30% and 19% respectively.
In the 3rd district led by NPC Arthur Yap who is supporting Roxas, voter’s preference is high for Duterte with 50% followed by Roxas with a score of 21% and Binay with 11% with a margin of error of +/- 7.
In the 2010 vice presidential elections Roxas won over Binay by an overwhelming 76,088 votes.
Binay won in Tagbilaran City, Danao, San Miguel, Maribojoc, the hometown of Duterte’s national campaign manager, Mayor Leoncio Evasco and Loay, the hometown of gubernatorial bet Mayor Rosemarie Imboy. (Chito M. Visarra)