FPJ holding only slight edge over GMA in QC — Herbert

Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista said yesterday that presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. is holding on to a very slight edge over President Arroyo in terms of support in Metro Manila’s biggest city.

This is why Mrs. Arroyo is working overtime to campaign for votes in the city’s four districts.

At yesterday’s weekly Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel, Bautista said the 52 percent of residents in the city belong to the C-D-E class brackets, where the opposition hopes to claim majority of votes.

According to the vice mayor, Quezon City has 1.1 million residents, 80 percent of whom are voters. He said Poe holds a mere five percent edge over the President.

"President GMA continues to go back to Quezon City to secure the help of local officials," said Bautista who is seeking another term in the May polls.

He added that the support of Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will also boost the President’s campaign.

"President GMA believes that the accomplishments of Mayor Belmonte will greatly benefit her," Bautista said.

The vice mayor expressed confidence that the SB Performance Team, led by Belmonte, will be able to convince residents to vote for the President and her entire K-4 senatorial slate.

"We expect that by campaigning at the barangay level, we will be able to convince people to vote for the K-4 slate," he said.

During the proclamation rally for local administration bets, Mrs. Arroyo lauded Belmonte for transforming Quezon City from a financially distressed local government unit into the richest city in the country.