MANILA, Philippines?Jejomar ?Jojo? Binay is embarking on an audacious journey from the ?Republic of Makati? to the Republic of the Philippines as the country?s very own ?Jojo Bama??much like US President-elect Barack Obama.

Vowing to turn the nation around as he did in Makati City as its longtime mayor, Binay Tuesday declared his intention to run for the presidency, calling for a ?voter?s revolution? in 2010 through change in leadership.

More than 2,000 supporters, some trucked in from the provinces, carried streamers that read ?Obama of the Philippines? and ?Jojo Binay for President? as they gathered at the Makati City Hall for a 7 a.m. thanksgiving Mass on Binay?s 66th birthday.

There were no chants of ?Yes, we can!? as in the Obama rallies, only ?Binay! Binay!?

Clad in barong, the diminutive mayor likened to Obama for his dark skin said he accepted the people?s clamor ?all over the Philippines? for him to continue serving the country.

?Today you formally ask me to lead you toward the victory of our revolution?a revolution that will install a government that will redeem our people?s dignity by making our economy work. And I mean to really work so that every time the numbers on the economic charts go upward, so will the food on our tables be in greater abundance,? said Binay, a former human rights lawyer who has served Makati as mayor for 19 years.

The speech ended with his supporters releasing yellow and blue balloons on which were written ?Makati ngayon, Pilipinas bukas (Today Makati, tomorrow the Philippines)??Binay?s campaign slogan.

Former president and pardoned plunderer Joseph ?Erap? Estrada, who is himself aspiring to run again, welcomed Binay?s move, calling him ?capable and qualified.?

?He has a good chance,? Estrada said. ?If a former mayor of a small town can become president, how much more for him who is the mayor of Makati??

Reacting to jokes that Binay will be the first black Pinoy chief executive, much like the US president-elect, Estrada said laughing, ?Already, we call him Jojo Bama.?

"I hope he will make it," Estrada told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview soon after Binay announced his bid, although noting it was still too early to officially endorse anybody as the opposition's standard bearer.

"He has proven his capability as chief executive of Makati and he is one of the most qualified presidential candidates," Estrada added.

Estrada admitted he will run for president only if the opposition cannot unite behind one candidate. ?That?s my last option,? he said.

Binay was appointed acting mayor of Makati by former President Corazon Aquino in 1986 following the ouster of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He later won the mayorship on his own in 1988, and was reelected in 1992 and 1995.

In a move his opponents denounced as a perpetuation of a political dynasty, his wife, Dr. Elenita Binay, ran and took over Makati in 1998 after Binay?s three consecutive terms, while Binay was appointed chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Binay again took the reins in 2001 and 2004, and is now on his last term as mayor of the country?s financial district. He is often credited with steering Makati from a backward municipality into a highly urbanized city.

Aside from Binay, his political nemesis?MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando?has proclaimed his intention to run in 2010.

Makati is said to have its own ?republic? after Binay refused to be placed under the MMDA?s jurisdiction in garbage disposal and the number-coding scheme for privately owned cars to ease traffic jams.

?Let the people decide,? he said when asked what his message was to Fernando, a tenor who on Saturday won the hugely popular television show ?Celebrity Duets.?

Binay, as expected, took potshots at the scandal-riddled Arroyo administration as he raised issues like ?Hello Garci,? the aborted $329-million national broadband deal, the scuttled memorandum of agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

?Are these the actions that a good President makes?? he asked the crowd, who yelled back in unison, ?No!?

?When she leaves in 2010, which hopefully she will do quietly, she will have left our orphaned republic in shambles,? Binay thundered.

Whatever Erap says

Though the speech was a virtual declaration of his candidacy, Binay later clarified that he was only announcing his ?availability? and said he will not run without the go-ahead from Estrada, who was nowhere to be seen during the Mass.

?I cannot run without President Erap?s blessing ... As they always say for me to become a good leader, I must first be a good follower. So, whatever President Erap decides, I will follow,? he told reporters when asked if he was the standard-bearer of United Opposition. Binay is UNO president.

But he said Estrada, whom he would meet at his birthday dinner later in the evening, knew about his announcement.

?In many instances he already mentioned that I am one of the presidentiables ... I offered myself already that?s why I said I?m now available, I will be there aspiring for the presidency,? he said.

Binay said performance?and not surveys?mattered to him as polls only included those who had long been posturing for the presidency, ostensibly referring to Senators Manuel Villar, Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson and Vice President Noli de Castro.

Palace: It?s still too early

?He never wanted to be known for his ambition but for his performance,? said longtime ally Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. who introduced Binay during Tuesday?s event.

"The city is the crowning testimony to his ability to lead the country," Locsin said.

Asked later about the reference to Binay as the Philippine version of Obama, Locsin said, ?You mean Obama is the Jojo Binay of Chicago? The difference ... is that Obama has no achievement to speak of so he is (pushing) hope we can believe in, change we can believe in.?

Saying his friend has proved his ?mettle,? Locsin added: ?Secretly, I believe Obama was watching Jojo Binay.?

Estrada said he will first review results of surveys on the many possible opposition presidential candidates before officially naming his choice for 2010.

But he said Binay would make a good candidate because of his experience as a local executive.

"I believe that he won't even run if he doesn't know he's capable," said Estrada, adding that the presidency is more "managerial," akin to running a local government unit, than legislative.

He added Binay's timing could not have been more right since it would allow proper planning for the campaign.

However, Estrada said he expects more members of the opposition to express interest in the country's top post.

"Of course, there's so many candidates from the opposition. This goes to show that we have better candidates than the administration," said Estrada.

Malacañang deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said voters should be ?smart enough to see the quality of a leader they want in the future.? She added it was still too early to talk about the 2010 presidential election.

She said the Palace would not comment on one?s political ambitions and would rather remain focused on governance and reforms.

?We believe that it is still early for politics and that there are far more important issues,? Fajardo said in a text message to the INQUIRER.net.

?Palace expects more politicians to declare their intentions to run for [the] presidency but we are confident that Filipinos know that a good leader serves the interest of the public and must have vision and determination to guide the nation as well as be knowledgeable in economic and foreign policy,? she said.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago couldn?t help but laugh when she heard the news.

?Excuse me for finding it a source of humor,? she said. With reports from Fe Zamora, Leila B. Salaverria, Christian V. Esguerra and Christine O. Avendaño