CEBU CITY, Philippines – “Maayong buntag sa inyong tanan (good morning to you all)!” was all Vice President Jejomar Binay got to say in front of thousands of Cebuanos before he was booed on Sunday, January 17. 

The booing happened during an event for the Sinulog grand parade at the Cebu City Sports Complex on Sunday morning. 

Mike Rama, suspended Cebu City Mayor and one of the head organizers of the Sinulog festival, introduced Binay – and the vice president was only able to say that one sentence before his voice was drowned out by jeers.

In a text message to Rappler, Binay spokesperson Joey Salgado responded to the reports of booing saying, “We have received reports it came from the [Liberal Party] contingent. If this is true, it’s just unfortunate that they behaved the way they did.”

“VP Binay has been attending Sinulog since 2010. His presence is nothing new,” Salgado added.

The vice president’s camp believes that the recent rankings in the presidential surveys placing Binay first was the reason behind the booing. 

“Alam namin na masama ang kanilang loob dahil leading sa presidential survey si VP Binay, maging sa Visayas,” Salgado said. (We know they are sourgraping because VP Binay is leading in the presidential surveys, even in the Visayas.)

He added, “Pero kung hindi nila kayang igalang si Vice President Binay, sana man lang iginalang nila ang okasyon.” (If they can’t respect him, then they should at least respect the occasion.)

Binay left the stadium a little before noon to attend a lunch and visit the Simala Shrine in Sibonga town in southern Cebu.

Binay was accompanied by his running mate Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, his son and dismissed Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, and 3 of the United Nationalist Alliance’s senatorial candidates: Harry Roque, Alma Moreno, and Princess Jacel Kiram.

Binay is the only presidential candidate so far who has been spotted at the annual Sinulog, one of the country’s biggest religious and cultural festivals. Latest estimates place this year’s crowd at over 1.6 million people. – Rappler.com