The Binays are back in power in Makati, the country’s premier financial district, after a fourth member of the family won as mayor.

Makati City Representative Mar-len Abigail Binay, daughter Vice President Jejomar Binay, was proclaimed winner in the mayoral race at the Makati Coliseum early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, her husband, political neophyte Luis Campos, won as second district representative, the post Abigail is leaving.

Binay led by 15,999 votes over her close rival, Liberal Party candidate and sitting Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña. In the final tally of votes released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Binay got 154,207, Pena earned 138,208, while independent candidate Jimmy Jumawan got 1,755 votes.

For the vice mayoral post, first District Representative Monique Lagdameo was also declared winner over his opponents Karla Mercado, Glen Enciso, and Edgardo Padrigon. Lagdameo is Binay’s runningmate, while Mercado, daughter of Binay’s nemesis, Ernesto, is Peña’s.

The votes were from a total of 559 precincts. Of the total 397,587 registered voters, 257,313 voted in Monday’s national elections.

Abigail’s proclamation turned into a family affair with the attendance of the Vice President, mother Dr. Elenita, siblings former Mayor Jun-Jun, Senator Nancy, daughter, and relatives.

Other Binays who had occupied the post of Makati mayor were the Vice President, his wife, Dr. Elenita, and more recently, his son, Jun-jun.

Tension

Before Abigail was proclaimed, tension gripped several schools in Barangay Rizal, Comembo, Cembo, Pembo when supporters of Peña barricaded the gates, blocking the delivery of election paraphernalia to the Makati Coliseum where the canvassing of votes was done. Peña’s supporters claimed that there was cheating, questioning the zero votes in at least four precincts in Barangays Pembo and Comembo.

Zenaida Peñafuerte, Rizal Elementary School principal, said 117 teachers could not go home because supporters of Peña blocked their way. Motorbikes and vehicles were also parked in the middle of the street to prevent coasters from transferring the election paraphernalia.

Peñafuerte denied that Peña got zero votes in their school but admitted to low turnout of votes for him.

Respect the result

Abigail called the move a “sign of desperation.” “It seems that they (Peña’s camp) do not want to respect the result of the election,” she said.

She said that her opponents must know that they could not just demand for a manual counting.

“There is a process. There should be a petition first; you cannot just barricade schools and obstruct the delivery of the ballots,” she said.

Abigail also dismissed cheating allegations thrown at them, saying that Peña, incumbent mayor and administration candidate, has the machinery to do so.

Reluctant candidate

Abigail called herself an “accidental candidate” as brother Jun-Jun was supposed to run for another term as mayor in October. However, Jun-Jun was meted a perpetual disqualification from holding public office by the Office of the Ombudsman due to alleged overpricing of Makati Science High School.

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) decided to field her instead.

Abigail’s first undertaking in public office was as Representative of Makati City in 2007. In 2010, she secured her second term in office.

Plans for Makati

Earlier, Abigail vowed continue and expand the Serbisyong Binay which her father began in 1986.

Among her plans is to introduce a unified identification card for all social services in Makati; to build Makati’s first subway system in the Philippines; and to lower the grade requirement, from 85 to 75 percent, for students to avail themselves of the city’s scholarship program.

Abigail said that she will make Makati a fully functional and operational Wi-Fi city in strengthening the peace and order.

Abigail ran under UNA, the political party of her father while Peña ran under the administration’s Liberal Party.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Anna Liza Villas-Alavaren

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]