Binay, JPE, Erap to join UNA bets in filing COCs

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and former President Joseph Estrada will join the senatorial candidates of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) in filing their certificates of candidacy (COCs) before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday.

Binay is UNA’s president while Enrile and Estrada are UNA’s chairman emeritus and chairman, respectively.

“We are joining the entire UNA senatorial slate in the filing of their candidacies on Oct. 1, at 1 p.m.,” Binay said.

“All the senatorial candidates of UNA will together, file their certificates of candidacies before the Commission on Elections,” he added.

Binay said they would make festive the filing of COCs by UNA’s senatorial candidates.

“Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, President Erap and myself will all join them,” he said.

Among the three UNA leaders, Binay is the youngest at 69 years while Enrile, 88, is the oldest. Estrada is 75 years old.

Meanwhile, former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuangco, wife of UNA vice-president Peping Cojuangco and aunt of President Aquino, is 99.9 percent sure to run as senator under the UNA ticket, Binay said yesterday.

With Binay’s pronouncement, UNA has until Sunday to announce its final 12 senatorial candidates for the 2013 midterm elections.

“In every project and program, there is always a margin of error,” he said, referring to the slim chance that Tingting will not pursue her bid under UNA.

The Vice President said that the senatorial candidates he and Estrada earlier announced are already final.

“Final, but let us wait for the announcement,” Binay said.

He said UNA has not given a schedule yet on the possibility of his daughter, Nancy Binay-Angeles, running for senator under UNA. Nancy is working as his personal assistant at the Office of Vice President.

Binay said UNA is including Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda in its list of senatorial candidates.

Recent poll surveys showed Legarda and Escudero landing on the top and second spot, respectively.