Nancy meme draws laughs; She hopes ‘this continues’

Nancy Binay has been the butt of ugly jokes since she first ran for senator, but she has a knack for turning something bad into good and possibly amp up her reelection campaign.

Her critics have been making fun of her mainly for her dark skin color, but she has embraced her complexion.

Last year, Binay flipped what she called her “uling,” or charcoal, complexion into a positive message, saying she was just like the ordinary Filipino that everyone could identify with, but one who could ignite a flame.

Miss U courtesy call

“I received the feedback that I was simple, I looked like them. I guess my campaign will evolve around that, that I’m not special, I’m just like you. Of course, there has to be truthfulness in your campaign,” she said.

Lately, a picture of the senator gazing awkwardly at Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, who was making a courtesy call on the Senate, has been turned into several memes intended to disparage her.

The effect on her was the opposite and the humor did not escape her. She found them amusing and hilarious, and she was glad that they had tickled the Filipinos’ funny bone, Binay said.

The memes poking fun at her sitting beside Gray looking at the beauty queen have been circulating on social media, helping generate free publicity and name recall for her.

“The ‘bad publicity’ sometimes becomes something good for me, so I hope this continues,” Binay said. “It’s popular online, and I guess people still talk about you … It’s good publicity because there’s a good effect on me.”

NPC, NUP help

Still, the candidate of United Nationalist Alliance needed a boost for her candidacy from solid political parties so she has turned for help from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and the National Union Party (NUP).

“I approached two parties for help in my campaign—the NUP and of course (Senate President Vicente) Sotto (III),” she said in a Senate forum on Thursday.

Sotto is the NPC’s senior council leader. “We know that he is the one at the helm of the NPC, so we also approached the NPC for help,” Binay said.

She declined to say whether the NPC committed to help her campaign, but said she hoped she would be given a spot on the party’s senatorial slate.

The NPC is backing former Sen. Lito Lapid and reelectionist Senators JV Ejercito and survey front-runner  Grace Poe, an adopted member of the party.

Binay said she did not seek President Duterte’s support and was not invited to join the administration party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, or Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago.