Why was Nancy Binay a no-show at her own proclamation as a novice senator?
The running joke—which even the candidate gamely acknowledged on Friday—was that Binay was actually at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where the Commission on Elections proclaimed the six top placers as winners in last Monday’s senatorial race.
But she is so dark, so the joke went, that nobody noticed her.
Binay explained that after consulting with her lawyers, she decided that the “prudent thing to do” was to wait until “every vote has been considered.”
“For my own peace of mind, I want that the final result is truly (reflective of) the will of the people,” she said.
“I was not comfortable that I would be proclaimed in this manner,” she said.
Binay’s team, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), and other interested parties are questioning the Comelec’s early proclamation of the candidates occupying the first six places in the continuing canvass.
Binay said she was looking for a “definitive” victory in her first attempt at seeking elective office.
With only 72 out of the 304 certificates of canvass (COCs) considered by the national board of canvassers, she said the 5.7 million votes she got was still far from showing the real picture.
The 72 COCs accounted for only 13,384,981 voters, way below the 52 million registered voters.
“Who knows? It might even turn out later on that I don’t belong in the first six, that I am in fact in the second half (of the Magic 12),” she said.
Binay insisted she did not skip her own proclamation because UNA had asked the Comelec to defer the proclamation until certain issues are resolved.
“I did it out of my personal conviction,” she told a press conference.
Having been criticized for the slow pace of the canvassing, the Comelec promptly junked the UNA petition and proceeded with the proclamation of the six.
Binay noted that even in local elections, winners were not proclaimed until most of the votes had been canvassed.
“Of course, I’m thankful that I was named a winner, but it’s difficult when they are not doing what should be done,” she said.
First posted 12:06 pm | Friday, May 17th, 2013