Keeping up the Binay legacy

After more than two years of self-imposed sabbatical, Vice President Jejomar Binay re-emerged in public. Citing being refreshed from tension and stress from his being a public official for two decades now, Binay has only reconciliatory words for personalities with whom he felt have personally wronged him because of politics.

In fact, ex-VP Binay believes his family’s arch basher opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has solid legal grounds to question the withdrawal of the amnesty grant he got from former president Noynoy Aquino. Speaking as a lawyer, ex-VP Binay clarified the “facts of the law” are in favor of Trillanes who is now the arch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Should he succeed in his bid for Congress, ex-VP Binay vowed to strive to win his future fellow lawmakers to amend their internal rules on “investigations in aid of legislation” under which Trillanes led the Senate inquiry against the Binays. Speaking from his personal experience, he described as “traumatic” to say the least to him and his family. “I would not wish it upon others,” he quipped.

Binay survived his hard fought political battles in the past which he attributes to his bible reading and embarking on pilgrimage trips to the Holy Land along with his wife, former Makati City Mayor Dra. Elenita Binay during his long absence from politics.

While he has opted for the virtuous path of forgive and forget, Binay would like to correct the existing system that enabled his worst enemies to inflict the most damage to his presidential bid. This is why, he explained, he is making a comeback in politics as congressman for the first district of Makati City in next year’s May elections.

Other than economic provisions, Binay agrees to the proposed amendments to the country’s 1987 Constitution, especially on the limit to local government officials to three years and up to three consecutive terms in office only. The term limit is pointed to as the culprit to the rise of political dynasties to skirt this provision.

From his six years experience as VP, Binay supports also an amendment to the Constitution that will automatically give the Vice President a Cabinet post other than a successor to the Chief Executive. While he in favor of Charter change, he is worried on the proposed shift to federalism may abet, not discourage secession.

Ex-VP Binay came out for the first time in a full-blown meeting with the press with us at Kapihan sa Manila Bay last Wednesday at Café Adriatico in Malate. The last time we had ex-VP Binay as guest in our weekly breakfast forum was on April 29, 2015. Or, this was more than a year before the campaign period when he decided to throw his hat in the May 2016 presidential race.

 Binay though lost miserably and placed fourth to the former Davao City Mayor in the six-man presidential race. Up to now, Binay could not believe why he supposedly got “zero” vote in at least 17,000 polling precincts. He was the presidential standard-bearer of their own party – the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

He opted, however, not to pursue an election protest, citing “practical reasons” that would require him millions of funds to pursue a case before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). From personal reasons, Binay added filing a protest would only cause him unnecessary stress and tension that may unduly affect his health.

But before his detractors can raise again the issue of his supposed failing health, Binay invoked what he has learned from reading four bibles a day to accept the situation. Perhaps, he quipped, it may be “what God wants.”

Despite feeling cheated during the last polls, Binay has apparently not lost his trust and confidence in the country’s automated elections.

Binay – who turned 76 years old last Monday – will run again and face off with former Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña, the immediate predecessor of his daughter, incumbent Makati Mayor Abby Binay-Campos. Peña, who was then Vice Mayor of Makati City, took over from Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” S. Binay Jr.

The younger Binay was suspended from office by the Ombudsman for the alleged “overpricing” of the P2.2-billion Makati City Hall Parking Building project. In May this year, however, the Court of Appeals’ (CA) Tenth Division cleared ex-Mayor Junjun and four other Makati City Hall officials of administrative charges in this case. The Binay father-and-son are co-accused in this plunder case filed at the Sandiganbayan by former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado over the same case.

Mayor Abby is running for re-election next year. She is facing two or three other rivals for the mayorship who included her own younger sibling, Junjun. As UNA chairman, ex-VP Binay signed the certificate of official nomination of Abby as their party’s mayoral candidate. Junjun is running under UNA sa Makati, the original party when he first run and won as mayor.

Mayor Abby’s husband, incumbent Rep. Luis Jose Angel Campos Jr. is up for re-election for the second congressional district of Makati City. Binay’s eldest daughter, Senator Nancy – currently as the UNA president – is also up for re-election at the Senate.

Despite the sibling rivalry, the patriarch of the Binay political dynasty sought to douse public perception of a divided home.

The Binay patriarch swears their family remains intact and that politics is never discussed over their regular family dinner gathering at home.

Ex-VP Binay though exudes confidence he can beat Peña who was routed by his daughter Abby during the mayoral contest in the May 2016 elections. He is more confident his daughter Abby would win her re-election bid.

The elder Binay rued public services and government operations allegedly deteriorated during the time of acting Mayor Peña. These include significant benefits for residents he initiated during his term as Makati mayor from 1986 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010. In between, it was his wife Elenita and son Junjun who got elected and served as mayor one after the other.

The people of Makati City are keeping up with the Binay legacy, warts and all, so to speak.