UNA on Binay’s running mate: Coming soon

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will announce the running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay for the 2016 elections in the next days.

Talks are ongoing with all possible choices for UNA’s vice presidential candidate, Binay’s spokesman Mon Ilagan said yesterday.

The Vice President also said his running mate would be known soon.

Asked to describe the UNA tandem, Binay said “it’s the tandem that will surely win.”

Binay refused to confirm if Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would be his running mate.

Meanwhile, UNA expressed fear the Liberal Party (LP) might resort to cheating and harassment to ensure the victory of its candidates in the 2016 elections.

“There’s a possibility that the LP will exploit the flaws of the electronic elections. It’s not unlikely that they will again use the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) to manipulate the poll results,” Ilagan said.

Ilagan said they have been receiving reports that national and local leaders of the ruling party were pressuring local officials identified with UNA and Binay.

“Reports of harassment against rival candidates and their supporters are increasing. It’s alarming since they control the entire government machinery and have at their disposal LP people appointed in key agencies involved in the 2016 elections,” he said.

“Like in the 2013 elections, widespread blackout is looming in Mindanao and Luzon for the 2016 polls. This alone is disturbing, and they have many ways to make Mar Roxas win,” he said.

Ilagan said UNA has conducted an assessment of the 2013 midterm elections and would put in place measures to prevent poll fraud in 2016.

UNA had questioned the integrity of the election data in the 2013 polls and sought to defer the proclamation of the winning candidates as Smartmatic personnel allegedly manipulated the data in the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) command center. 

The PPCRV then was conducting its own unofficial tally of the votes.

“Our doubts and fears in the ‘60-30-10’ voting pattern observed in 2013 elections are still there,” Ilagan said.

The 60-30-10 voting pattern was reportedly observed in 2013, with the administration Team P-Noy candidates consistently getting 60 percent of the votes cast in various precincts while UNA and independent candidates got 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively.