Mercado: Binay has my vote for vice president

MANILA, Philippines--Although he and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay may have parted ways due to political differences, Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado said his former ally has his vote for vice president.

“My conscience says I should vote for him because he is still my friend,” Mercado told reporters yesterday.

He said that should Binay, who is running with former President Joseph Estrada, win in the May elections, this would benefit the city.

Mercado was Binay’s staunch ally for three terms, serving beside him as his vice mayor.

The two, however, parted ways after Binay allegedly reneged on his promise to support Mercado for mayor in the coming polls.

Mercado claimed that after convincing him to run, Binay suddenly backtracked and decided to field his son, Councilor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., instead.

The mayor, however, said that it was Mercado who broke their alliance by talking to other political groups behind his back.

“Jojo Binay has been my idol. I wouldn’t have [served with him] if this were not the case. But our relationship changed when he began aspiring for the presidency,” Mercado said.

He added that the elder Binay was one of the country’s best mayors. “You can see that by how he changed Makati,” he added.

The mayor, however, started distancing himself from Mercado when the latter told him frankly that he would not win should he run for the presidency or the vice presidency, Mercado said.

“‘Why not run for senator instead,’ I told him,” he said.

Asked for comment, Lito Anzures, the mayor’s spokesperson, dismissed Mercado’s statement as mere double-talk.

“He lambasts the mayor during forums. He makes baseless allegations against the mayor in public. Yet, in front of the media, he turns around and says something differently. This is nothing but propaganda,” Anzures said.


By Niña Calleja
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:43:00 02/23/2010 onxz http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20100223-254955/Mercado-Binay-has-my-vote-for-vice-president

Last changed: Mar 02 2010 at 2:17 AM