Marcos wins in Metro Manila, enjoys big lead over Robredo

MANILA, Philippines – While candidates Leni Robredo and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr are still neck and neck in the vice presidential race based on the unofficial tally of national votes, it’s a different story in Metro Manila where the latter enjoys a huge lead.

Based on unofficial results from the Commission on Elections-GMA7 mirror server as of 6:55 pm of Wednesday, May 11, Marcos leads in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 2.18 million votes, and Robredo comes second with 1.36 million votes.

Marcos dominates in 15 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila – except in Taguig City, the bailiwick of candidate Alan Peter Cayetano.

And while the total number of votes for the two are just close to each other, there’s a wide gap between their votes in most areas in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Marcos’ lead in NCR became consistent with the last surveys conducted by both Pulse Asia and The Standard, where he led in the region – 38% and 42%, respectively. Robredo came second in the Pulse Asia survey with 24%, while Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero was second in the Standard survey with 23%.

But while Marcos shares the same lead in NCR with presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte, their fates are different, based on the unofficial tally of total votes nationwide.

Huge lead

Marcos enjoys the widest lead over Robredo in the cities of Manila and Navotas, where the difference between their percentages of votes are around 30% and 28%, respectively.

In Manila (results in chart above), Marcos’ candidacy was backed by now reelected Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, who announced he was supporting the candidacies of Marcos and presidential candidate Grace Poe. His other partner Guia Gomez, who, based on unofficial results, won in San Juan City by a hairline, endorsed administration candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas.

Meanwhile, in Navotas (results in chart above), Marcos’ 2010 senatorial candidacy was endorsed by then mayor and now reelected representative Tobias Tiangco. Tiangco’s wife Michelle is Marcos’ cousin.

Marcos got the highest percentage of votes in Pasay City (see below), with 50.7%. Robredo got only 26.9% in the city.

Robredo didn’t do well in the city despite the huge success of the Liberal Party’s (LP) Pasay City bets – Antonino Calixto for mayor, Noel del Rosario for vice mayor, and Imelda Calixto-Rubiano for representative.

Cayetano factor

Votes for Alan Peter Cayetano, currently in 4th place in the unofficial tally of votes, may have contributed to the gap between the votes for the two leading candidates.

In Taguig City (results in chart below), Cayetano ranked first with 49.6% of votes, followed by Marcos with 29.9%, and Robredo with 13.8%.

Cayetano was former councilor, vice mayor, and representative in this city. His wife Laarni was reelected mayor – the lone candidate for the position, while his sister Pia secured the congressional seat vacated by their brother Lino.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Pateros (results in chart below), Marcos ranked first with 35.4%, followed by Cayetano with 28.4%, and Robredo with 23.6%.

Pateros is the only area in Metro Manila where Robredo dropped to 3rd place.

No LP candidate ran in Taguig City, where most candidates are from NPC. As for Pateros, only one is from LP – Arnel Cerafica for representatives – and the rest are either independent or from NPC.

Endorsed by local officials

In most cities – Pasig, Las Piñas, for example – Marcos got more than 40% of votes, while Robredo only got more than 20-30% of votes. These are areas where, just like in Manila and Navotas City, local officials were all out for Marcos’ candidacy.

In Pasig City (results in chart above), the ruling Eusebio clan expressed support for Marcos’ vice presidential bid.

In Las Piñas City (see above), Mayor Vergel Aguilar and Representative Mark Villar both gave their “silent endorsement” to Marcos.

But still, all these didn’t stop Robredo from dislodging Marcos from the top in the vice presidential race. – Rappler.com