Senator Nancy Binay arrives at Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila to file her COC for reelection as senator in the 2019 midterm polls. (Photo by Faye Orellana / INQUIRER.net)
Even if three other members of her family might run for public posts in 2019, Senator Nancy Binay on Friday said that they cannot be considered yet as a political dynasty.
“Hindi, kasi wala pa tayong clear definition ng political dynasty. Sa amin sa Senado na-file na eh, hopefully after the 2019 elections mas mapagtutuunan ng pansin ang panukala sa political dynasty,” Binay said in an interview before filing her certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2019 senatorial elections.
(No, because we don’t have a clear definition of political dynasty yet. In the Senate, we filed it aready, hopefully after the 2019 elections we can focus more on the proposal regarding political dynasty.)
Aside from the senator, her father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, has signified his bid for a Congressional seat in 2019. Then, there is also a possibility of a Binay versus Binay showdown in Makati, after both ex-Mayor Junjun Binay and current Mayor Abigail Binay said that they will run for the city’s mayoralty.
According to the senator, she is leaving it up for the people to decide through electing their preferred candidates.
“At the end of the day, it’s the people’s will, I am subjecting myself doon sa proseso ng halalan na kung saan may free will ang mga kababayan natin na mamili kung sino ang iha-halal nila,” Binay explained.
(I’m subjecting myself to the process of election where the public has free will to choose who they want to vote for.)
“Hindi naman porke’t ang apelyido ko ay Binay ay guarantee na mananalo ako sa 2019,” she added.
(Just because my last name is Binay doesn’t guarantee my win in the 2019 elections.)
In a forum on August, Abigail said that her father approved of her plans to run for her second term. The incumbent Makati chief executive won in the last 2016 elections, but she was not the original candidate — she entered the race in place of Junjun, who was dismissed and disqualified from running for public office.
However, in May 2018, the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the Ombudsman’s decision, allowing Junjun to run again.
According to the senator, they will discuss internal issues once their father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay returns to the country. She also said that former Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay’s presence during her COC filing was not indicative of which side she was on.
“Basta mag-uusap pa kami […] Alam niyo naman ‘yong history ng pamilya namin, marami na kaming pinag-daanan, and we’ve survived. Katulad nga ng advice ko, kung may pinagdadaanan, pagdaanan lang, lilipas din ‘yan,” Nancy Binay said.
(We will discuss it. You know the history of our family; we’ve gone through so much and we’ve survived. Like what I said, if you’re going through something, just pass by it, because it will pass.) /je