MANILA, Philippines — Former Vice President Jejomar Binay lost his bid to represent the first district of Makati City at the House of Representatives.
Former Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña was proclaimed as Makati City's first district representatives after gaining 71,035 votes in the 2019 midterm elections.
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Binay, who was seeking a political comeback after stepping down in 2016, only got 65,229 votes.
Citing glitches in the voting process and alleged disenfranchisment of voters, the camp of Binay contested Peña's victory as the latter won by more than 5,000 votes.
Makati City Board of Canvassers, however, denied the appeal of the Binay camp and advised them to file an appeal before the Commission on Election en banc.
In 2015, Peña took over as acting mayor of Makati City after the suspension of then Mayor Junjun Binay.
The younger Binay was suspended over alleged irregularities in connection to the construction of the Makati City Hall Building 2 project.
Peña used to be an ally of the Binays under the United Nationalist Alliance but had transferred to the Liberal Party.
Meanwhile in the Makati City mayoral race, Abby Binay retained her post with 179,522 votes, beating her brother Junjun who obtained 98,653 votes. — Patricia Lourdes Viray