Early on in the hotly-contested elections for city mayor, a random sampling, albeit informally, by word-of-mouth showed, that John Geesnell ‘Baba’ Yap is leading the pack of mayoralty hopefuls. Of course, the results were self-serving if peddled mostly by the candidate’s avid followers. Now it can be told. As if to demolish the self-serving tale, the no. 1 city councilor is showing again as the top pick of the city electorate when validated by the latest poll survey conducted by the prestigious Holy Name University Research Center (HNURC). Posting a stunning result of 55%, the young Yap bested his two opponents by “a mile”. His uncle Dr. Abraham Lim and lawyer Agustinus “Dodong” Gonzaga, garnered an identical 13% as against the leading survey leader. They constitute the three-cornered contest for city mayor.

The latest survey results surpassed an earlier record of 40% he posted in a poll conducted by the same survey outfit March-April 2012. This time, the survey covers the period from August to September 2012. The first HNURC survey results covering the period March to April 2012 also pointed to Yap as the city electorates’ overwhelming choice for city mayor. Political observers said the consistency of Yap as survey leader is a result of his result-oriented and action-man as city councilor. He was elected the number one councilor in the May 2010 elections and from there, Yap hadn’t stop working and connecting to the people. Through his flagship project “B.A.B.A.” (Building an Active Barangay Advocacy) he personally delivers varied community services that benefitted all walks and sectors of the city community. This is the reason that Yap is the top choice for city mayor, observers noted.

Yap latest survey rating is higher by 15% compared to the March-April survey result. The phenomenal rise in Yap’s survey ratings could also be attributed to the unbeatable team-up  of first Councilor John Geesnell “Baba” Yap for City Mayor and Councilor Anne Mariquit “Kit” Oppus as his vice-mayor running mate for next year’s mid-term elections. The broad coalition appropriately named “Pundok Panaghi-usa” was a result of a series of direct consultation in barangays, socio-civic organizations, youth clusters and other multi-sectoral groups. This was further bolstered by the results of the earlier independent survey by Holy Name University Research Center that placed Yap at the No. 1 position against two other mayoralty bets of Tagbilaran City. The perfect combination in the   Panaghiusa Team  is composed of Vice mayoralty bet and active advocate for women's and children's rights Kit Oppus. The slate for councilor includes reelectionist Councilor Beben Inting,  Barangay Kagawads Joseph Bompat (Dampas)  and Tim Butalid (Pob1), Cogon councilman Jerry Pabe,  Cogon kagawad Charles Cabalit, Dr. Allan Real (Pob2)  and Mimi Vitorillo (Pob3). Former Congressman Adam Jala, civic leader Ondoy Borja, and businessman Johnny Enerio.

Councilor Yap who just celebrated his 35 th birthday last week, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the high percent of electorates’ confidence in him as reflected in the latest HNURC survey result He said the survey results also indicate the city residents’ trust in his team Pundok Panag-hiusa.  “I have gathered a slate in response to the clamor of the people of Tagbilaran for a new breed of leaders. This is a product of a consultative process that allows the public to freely express their sentiments and opinions. We listened and we heed their call for I  strongly believe that the Tagbilaranons deserve only the best,” Yap added.