Mar Roxas predicts win; Binay says lead insurmountable

Liberal Party candidate Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II on Thursday said he is confident of winning the vice-presidential race by "more of less 100,000 votes" despite trailing the official count by some 800,000 votes to frontrunner Jejomar "Jojo" Binay.

Facing the media for the first time since Monday's election, Roxas said he declined to grant interviews until he had gathered more data about the ongoing vote-count by the Commission on Elections. He said that based on his party's computations of votes in the remaining 12% uncounted precincts, he would have a "hairline win" of more or less 100,000 votes.

"Ako'y marahan na tao. When I talk, I want it to be based on facts and statistics. I waited until I got the reports from our poll watchers and it seems that a lot of our votes, particularly in our bailiwicks in the Visayas, have yet to be fully reflected in the count," he said.

"What is important here is that every vote is counted so that we show respect to every voter," he added.

He said some of the votes for him included big wins in vote-rich provinces such as Negros Occidental, Iloilo and Cebu. "In these provinces, I got more than 1.5 million votes . This is why I believe that in the end, I will still be declared the winner," he said.

Roxas denied Binay's claims that his supporters were conducting "special operations" to rig the results of the vice-presidential race in favor of Roxas.

"That's black propaganda. It's mind preparation. We have done no wrongdoing. We started a clean campaign and until now, we are fighting for a clean campaign. We will not do anything that will taint our name," he said.

Chiz's endorsement, focus on Noynoy

The LP bet admitted that a last minute endorsement by Sen. Francis Escudero for Binay boosted the latter's vice-presidential bid but did not actually have an effect on his votes.

He said the pre-election surveys had showed a large dip in the ratings of Nacionalista Party vice-presidential bet Loren Legarda, which went to Binay.

He also said that he had focused his attention on the campaign of his running mate, LP standard-bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, especially after his rival, Nacionalista Party bet Manny Villar, tied him in the pre-election surveys.

He added, however, that he does not regret prioritizing Aquino's campaign since it had paid off with the latter's landslide victory in the presidential race.

"I am happy that Sen. Noynoy Aquino is winning by a wide margin. That is more important. In fact, if he is watching, I just want to say 'Chief!' Maybe this is the last time I will call you 'Chief' because the next time I see you, you will be called 'Mr. President,'" he said.

During the interview, Roxas thanked Binay for wishing him a happy birthday. Roxas turned 53 on Thursday.

"Jojo, mula sa aking puso, maraming salamat sa iyong pagbati sa aking kaarawan!" he said.

Asked if he will file a protest if he loses, Roxas said: "Ako po ay isang marahang tao. Parating nakikinig sa boses ng tao. Meron tayong random manual audit and the official canvassing,. Kung maayos naman ang lahat, then para sa akin basta magwagi ang tinig ng tao, OK sa akin yun."

Binay: My lead is insurmountable

Meanwhile, Binay said on Thursday that if he loses in the vice-presidential race, it only means he was cheated.

"Kapag nabago pa ito, biro mo 14 regions iyan nanalo ako, walang maniniwala na naging malinis at marangal ang halalan na ito (If there results are changed, with me winning in 14 regions, no one would believe that this elections was clean and credible)," Binay said in an interview over ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda (UKG).

Binay said Roxas won only in 3 regions in the Visayas while he won in 14 regions.

He said that even if his present margin is 800,000, and the remaining untabulated votes is 5 million, there was no way that he would drop to 2nd place.

"Itong sinasabi na 5 million, i-spread out mo iyon at 'pag tiningnan mo ang trend. Ang trend niyan ay malaki pa ang makukuha ko kasi spread out mo iyon eh. Ang tutuunan lang nila ay Regions 6, 7 at 8 (Spread out that 5 million and study the trend [of the partial counts]. Based on the trend, I would get a big share of that because it would be spread out. They [Roxas camp] are strong only in Regions 6,7 and 8)," Binay said.

The Makati City mayor believes the claim that Roxas still has a chance to win the vice-presidential race is part of a "psywar."

No dagdag-bawas?

Binay claimed receiving information that a vice-presidential contender has sent people to Mindanao to try to buy votes. He said buying votes at this time would be impossible because the results have been electronically sent to the Comelec's central server.

Copies of the transmission are received by poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and other stakeholders.

"Itong automation ay mabilis ang labas ng resulta, hindi gaya ng manu-mano, napapalitan ang mga canvass, ang resulta (Results come out fast in automation unlike in manual, where the [certificates] of canvass, the results can be doctored)," he said.

Binay was still leading the vice-presidential race based on the PPCRV's partial and unofficial count as of 11:09 a.m. Thursday.
The Makati City mayor had 13,389,291 votes while Roxas had 12,602,550 votes. Binay's lead was 786,741.

The PPCRV said the latest count was based on results transmitted from 68,373 or 89.41% of the 76,475 total number of clustered precincts.

Majority of the precincts that have yet to transmit results of the elections are in Mindanao, where Binay and his running mate presidential candidate Joseph Estrada are enjoying strong support.

Stop speculations, extrapolations

Meantime, lawyer Jose Virgilio "JV" Bautista, a spokesperson for Binay, told ANC's Top Story on Thursday that the figures given by the Liberal Party (LP) showing a hairline victory for Roxas were based on speculations and extrapolations.

He said the tallies of the Comelec, electoral watchdog PPCRV, and the exit poll of ABS-CBN/Pulse Asia showed Binay winning over Roxas. "Where are they getting their numbers from?" he asked.

Bautista said the Binay camp's own analysis that the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino-PDP-Laban (PMP-PDP Laban) bet won is based on the actual count.

He urged the LP to stop trying to condition the minds of the public that Roxas can still win.

He said the Binay camp is hopeful that the real votes of the people would come out in the official result. Otherwise, the PMP-PDP-Laban will file a protest.