Nancy Binay. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines—Senator-elect Nancy Binay, who described herself as the “muse” of the so-called “macho bloc” in the Senate, paid a courtesy call to Acting Senate President Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada on Wednesday.
The “macho bloc” is composed of Estrada, resigned Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, Senators Gringo Honasan and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
The four members of the “macho bloc,” Binay, and Senator-elect JV Ejercito are expected to be the new opposition group in the Senate when the 16th Congress opens in July.
Asked then what she would consider herself now that she would be joining the “macho bloc” in the minority group, Binay said in jest, “The muse. Lahat sila kuya ko (They are all my elder brothers). The muse of the macho bloc.”
As a neophyte senator, Binay admitted that she has fears but said her colleagues in the new minority bloc had advised her to “conquer her fears.”
“Of course, I have fears. But like the advise of Senator Jinggoy and the macho bloc, they gave me advice to conquer the fear,” she said at a press conference held Estrada’s office in the Senate.
Estrada, who joined Binay in the presscon, recalled that when he was first elected senator in 2004, it was the veteran senators who “tested” him and interpellated his first speech.
This time though, he said he and the majority bloc would protect and guide their two neophyte colleagues, Binay and Ejercito, his half-brother.
Aside from her colleagues in the minority group, Binay was hopeful that her godfather, Senator Frank Drilon, who is eyeing the Senate presidency, would also help her in the Senate.
She said she and Drilon had not yet talked personally to discuss about possible committee chairmanships but Binay said she would prefer to be part of a committee that deals with either women and children or tourism.