The VP's First Lady

This early, announcements have been made about support being given to a possible candidate for the presidential election in 2016. Conjectures, although they are just conjectures, not announcements, have been passed around about Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay going for the plum position. So people have been addressing Mrs. Elenita Sombillo Binay as The First Lady.

Mrs. Binay shrugs off that possibility, saying 2016 is a long way off. But in the world of politics, no one can be sure about who’s going to be the next president or first lady. Mrs. Binay, in the early ’70s, was content being an Ob-Gynecologist at the Dr. Jose Reyes Medical Hospital, and never thought her husband, a struggling human rights lawyer by the name of Jejomar Binay, would become mayor of Makati, then vice-president. The doctor herself said she believes in destiny, that if it is one’s fate to be in politics, so be it. She herself became mayor of Makati City, after her husband’s three terms — without the least preparation for the job, except for her husband’s prodding her to take it on so that his program of administration would be carried through. And so, from 1998 to 2001, she served as mayor of the prime city.

She was aware of talks that it was actually her husband who was running the city’s affairs. At lunch yesterday, she denied that charge. “He was my adviser,” she said, “but I learned the ropes along the way. I had meetings with all the heads of the city’s agencies, and they told me what was going on, and the programs I had to continue.”

“Running the city is like managing a household,” she said. “You pay the electric and water bills, you work within a budget, you plan the menu for what will be good for the family. In government, you aspire to make life easier for your constituents.”

She learned that her husband indeed encountered problems, which problems she would encounter herself. For instance, there would be charges of corruption. The court case charging her of having overpriced the cost of office equipment by several millions of pesos has just been dismissed on account of the complainants’ lacking evidence to support their claim. “Mahirap ang nasa pulitika,” she said.

The Binays are not spared of the charge of having created a political dynasty. Their eldest daughter, Mar-len Abegail “Abby”, is a congresswoman, and their son, Jejomar “Junjun,” is now mayor of Makati.

It’s quite difficult for us bystanders, to judge harshly on why families create dynasties — when their scions are quite capable and ready for leadership roles. Of course there are dynasties of parents and offspring swimming in a sea of ill-gotten wealth and without competence. Dr. Binay said Abigail, married to businessman Jose Luis Nakpil Gerardo, is a law graduate of Ateneo, is a serious student of the law, and who represents the 2nd district of Makati with competence. Mayor Binay Jr. finished the public education course at the UP, and pursued further studies on the green environment, and what he is doing in Makati now makes her and her husband proud, said Mrs. Binay. 

The Binays’ three other children are not into politics. The eldest, Nancy Angeles (“she’s the brightest among our kids,” says Mrs. Binay), took up tourism at the UP, and runs a flourishing flower business; she is so business-minded, she even sells softdrinks at discounted prices to vendors. Angeline Alcantara (“Pinakamabait at matulungin,” said Mama Ellen) is her father’s right-hand person, and the youngest, JM, is still studying at St. Benilde’s College.

 Ellen looks back to her stint as mayor not with regret, believing she did her best as city manager. But she enjoys her being Mrs. Private Citizen again, and doing what she enjoys doing — taking care of the household, including her dozen grandchildren — and gardening. At our lunch, a good friend of, Mariliese Evaristo, said Ellen’s love has always been her children and grandchildren. Another friend, Nene Leonor (who is now president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Foundation), said Ellen is a good cook, and what she did for the city when she was its chief executive, was to improve the environment by building parks and gardens.

Her other accomplishment, Ellen said, was to make sure the city hospital served patients well. Still another was providing senior citizens with such delights as giving them a cake on their birthday, then treating them with “Aawitan Kita” concerts at the city gym, and taking them on educational tours of places many of them had not seen.

Without a doubt, Ellen has a soft spot in her heart for the less-privileged. One can’t count how many poor women she personally gave financial assistance. Mariliese said Ellen would be embraced by these women and thanked for helping their families. Her disposition may be a result of her being a medical doctor whose mission is to help treat the sick. She took up medicine at Manila Central University upon her father’s insistence. Her father owned a construction company and was elected vice-mayor of Angat, Bulacan. Her mother had an embroidery export business.

She met Jejomar when she was resident physician at the Dr. Jose Reyes Medical Center, and the young lawyer, a graduate of the UP College of Law, represented the DT Reyes Law Office in Dr. Jose Reyes’ court case. Jojo, said Ellen, had been orphaned early, but was determined to finish school, working at odd jobs like taking care of a relative’s poultry, going to the market, and learning to type papers.

Jojo and the charming and petite doctora were married soon after martial law was declared. Ellen was pregnant with Nancy when Jojo was incarcerated for his political activism. An avid supporter of the late President Corazon Aquino, he was a fearless street parliamentarian. After EDSA I, Nene Pimentel, who was appointed head of the Local Government Unit, appointed Jojo Officer-in-Charge of Makati. Came the first election, and Jojo won the mayorship, then won again the second and third time. After his third stint, Ellen was elected mayor, after which, Jojo was mayor again, until 2010.

Jojo, Ellen said, is a very religious man, going to church everyday, and carrying a prayer book with him most of the time. “We don’t talk bad about other people, we just keep quiet,” said Ellen. “But in truth I do not want a politician’s life. If possible, people will trample on you, and put you down.”

What about the next presidential election? Ellen said, “That’s a long way off. What I’d like Jojo to do is to perform the best way he can as vice-president. And I’d like him to help Noynoy.”

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