UNA explains Binay’s no-show

THE UNITED Nationalist Alliance (UNA) thought it best for its standard bearer, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to continue his motorcade in more areas in Tondo, Manila, rather than hold a rally in just one place to reach out to more people. This was the explanation given yesterday by Binay’s campaign spokesperson Rico Quicho after the INQUIRER reported that people in several barangays in Tondo waited on Sunday for the Vice President to speak to them and grew angry after he failed to do so. The INQUIRER report said that Binay was scheduled to speak from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the covered court shared by Barangays 152 and 153, the first stop in his motorcade in Tondo. However, when the Vice President and other UNA candidates reached the area, the vehicle carrying them backed up and drove away, leaving the crowd wondering where they went. “Vice President Binay is close to the people there and they will understand the decision for the motorcade to continue around the area and that was why he was unable to drop by in [some of] the barangays,” Quicho told reporters in Las Piñas City where Binay and his partymates dropped by for lunch yesterday after visiting residents on CAA road. He expressed hope that barangay officials and residents in Manila would understand what happened. On the report that a Liberal Party candidate had “sabotaged” the visit of Binay to the area, Quicho said it was difficult to speculate. “What happened was that the Vice President did not go down ... and he decided to continue with the motorcade so he could go to more areas and visit more people...,” he added. Christine O. Avendaño