PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS SERIES: JOJO BINAY
By Anton Antonio
August 10, 2015
“Campaign strategies should, at the very least, revolve
around the governance qualification and competence of a candidate. Mudslinging is part of the political
entertainment… but, again, at a certain point, this has to stop.” (Antonio,
2015) This was my last statement in a
blog/article titled “This Has To Stop” published and posted on http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/
and https://www.facebook.com/antonio.c.antonio. Consistent with my desire to make the 2016
presidential campaign a gentleman’s game, the articles to be carried in the
“Presidential Aspirants Series” will not indulge in mudslinging, vilification,
character assassination, image-demeaning, etc. hype that has been prevalent on
social media lately. In the next few
days, let us make better sense of things, level the playing field, and inform
the voting Filipinos on only the strengths of the declared presidential
aspirants. This way, we can all make more
informed and intelligent decisions based on merits; and not on negative social
media posts and information. Please note
that this “series” will only carry presidential aspirants who categorically and
publicly stated that they will run in 2016. To be perfectly fair, the
information used in this “series” will also consistently come from the same
source (Wikipedia).
Jejomar “Jojo” Cabauatan Binay, Sr. (also known as Jesus
Jose Cabauatan Binay; born November 11, 1942) is the fifteenth Vice President
of the Republic of the Philippines under President Benigno S. Aquino III. He is also currently serving as the president
of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
He was appointed by former President Corazon Aquino as
officer-in-charge of Makati City from 1986-1987. After his assignment, he was elected as
Makati City mayor from 1988-1998. During
this term, he acted as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)
chairman from 1990 to 1991. In 2001, he
was reelected as mayor until the end of his term in 2010. He resigned as Chairman of the Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council and as Presidential Adviser on Overseas
Filipino Workers in June 22, 2015.
Binay is a member of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA),
which is a coalition between the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and the Partido
Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan.
It was founded as an electoral alliance in 2012, and later became an
official political party in 2014.
Jojo Binay was born in Payatas. He is the younger of two children of Diego
“Jego” Medrano Binay, a librarian from Bauan, Batangas, and Lourdes Gatan
Cabauatan (died January 2, 1951 in Pasay City, a school teacher from Cabagan,
Isabela. He has an older sibling who
died before he was born making him the only one who survived childhood. After being orphaned at the age of nine, he
was adopted by his uncle, Ponciano Binay.
He is married to Dr. Elenita Sombilo Binay, who also served
as mayor of Makati from 1998 to 2001.
They have five children: Maria Lourdes “Nancy” Binay; Mar-Len Abigail
Binay; Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay; Marita Angeline “Anne” Binay; and, Joanna
Marie Blanca “JM” Binay.
Binay finished basic education at the Philippine Normal
College Training Department and graduated from the University of the Philippines
Preparatory School. He went to the
University of the Philippines Diliman for college and graduated in 1962 with a
degree in Political Science. He
continued on to the UP College of Law and graduated in 1967 then passed the
board examinations in 1968. He got a
master’s degree from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1980 and a master’s degree
in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the
Philippines. He took up Strategic
Economic Program in the Center for Research and Communication. He enrolled in a Non-Resident and General
Staff Course at the Command and General Staff College, AFP and joined the
seniors executive fellow program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in
Harvard University. He earned a
doctorate in Public Administration (Honoris Causa) from the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines. In 1993,
he received a diploma in Land Use Program from the University of the
Philippines. In 1996, he finished the
Top Management Program at the Asian Institute of Management in Bali,
Indonesia. He took up the Joint Services
and Command Staff course in the AFP. He
also has a Master’s degree in Management at the Philippine Christian University
and a diploma in Environment and Natural Resources Management from the University
of the Philippines Open University.
Upon passing the bar examination for Law, Binay took up
human rights law. During the Martial Law
period, he represented the political prisoners in the 1970s for no charge. After some time, he himself was detained.
It was also during the Marcos regime that Binay and other
human rights lawyers created Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity,
and Nationalism (MABINI).
On February 27, 1986, Binay became one or President Corazon
Aquino’s first appointed local officials after Mayor Nemesio I. Yabut died
while in office during the EDSA Revolution.
He was elected in his own right on January 18, 1988 and was reelected on
May 11, 1992 and on May 8, 1995.
He joined pro-democracy forces in preventing the mutinies
against the Aquino administration from being successful. His active role in the defense of the
Constitution earned him the nickname “Rambotito” (or little Rambo, after the
screen hero), the Outstanding Achievement Medal and a special commendation from
Aquino.
During his first term as mayor, Binay was also elected by
the mayors in Metro Manila as chairman of the Metro Manila Authority which was
a precursor to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). He served from 1990 to 1991. In 1998, he was appointed chairman of the
MMDA with cabinet rank under the administration of President Joseph
Estrada. He was also appointed
vice-chairman of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission.
On May 14, 2001, Binay reclaimed his post as mayor of Makati,
winning over actor, TV host, and then-vice mayor Edu Manzano via landslide and
became a critic of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He won his second term on May 10, 2004 by a
landslide against 1st district Councilor Oscar Ibay. He ran for his third and last term as mayor
May 14, 2007 and won again by a landslide, beating incumbent Senator and actor
Lito Lapid. His margin over Lapid has
been considered as the largest in local election in Makati City.
Binay initially announced his bid for the presidency for the
2010 elections during his 66th birthday celebration at the Makati
City Hall on November 11, 2008 but abandoned his bid in order to give way to
the election bid of former President Estrada.
He eventually became Estrada’s running mate and ran under the banner of
Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-LABAN).
He initially showed a relatively poor performance in the
public opinion polls, trailing behind Senators Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas, was
heavily favoured to win the race, but his standings improved as the elections
approached, overtaking Legarda and tying Roxas in the final survey
conducted. He went on to narrowly defeat
Roxas in the election by 700,000 votes. Roxas
filed an election protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal of the
Supreme Court which is still currently pending.
Binay took his oath as Vice President on June 30, 2010,
becoming the first local government official to do so. He was appointed as chairman of the Housing
Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) by President Noynoy Aquino, the
same position held by his predecessor, Vice President Noli de Castro and
Presidential Adviser for OFW Concerns.
He also heads the Task Force OFW which helps Overseas Filipino Workers
who were maltreated by their employers to return to the Philippines with the
assistance of the government.
He is widely considered to be the frontrunner among
presidential candidates for the Philippine general elections, 2016, with
Senator Grace Poe often coming in at a distant second.
Vice President Binay disclosed his platform for his 2016
Presidential bid during his speech in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in
Cebu City on March 20, 2015. He aims to
improve the situation in the state colleges and universities, public health hospitals
and clinics, police stations, and mass housing.
An increase in both salaries and benefits of public school teachers and
health workers, members of the police force, and other public servants was also
promised. In his plans included a
redesigning and re-engineering of the transportation system of the country, as
well as prioritizing the building of more infrastructures and the creation of
more jobs. He proposes to change the
constitution to boost the economy, and speed up the country’s development.
In early July of the same year, Binay expressed UNA’s (his
party) platform for 2016 in a speech:
“What UNA and the citizens are expressing is that we’re tired of
poverty, we’re tired of unemployment, we’re tired of criminals and illegal
drugs. We’re tired of the lack of basic
services… we’re struggling under a numb and failed government.” --- Wikipedia
Allow me to reiterate that my purpose in the “Presidential
Aspirants Series” is to give the opportunity for the public to be exposed on
the merits and governance skill sets of perceived presidential aspirants in
next year’s election. And now that
you’ve read this piece together with the articles on the other presidential
aspirants, are you for Jojo Binay?
Thoughts to
promote positive action…
(Please
visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/
and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)
REFERENCES:
Antonio, A. C., (2015). “This Has To Stop”. Retrieved on August 10, 2015 from http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/2015/08/this-has-to-stop.html
Wikipedia, (2015). “Jejomar Binay”. Retrieved on August 10, 2015 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jejomar_Binay
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