Binay unfazed by Pacquiao presidential ambition
Vice President Jejomar Binay: Unfazed. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay, the only politician to have declared his intention to run for President in 2016, said there is no need to worry about a Pacquiao presidential run just yet.
“He is still underage. You have to take it to mean that in the future, he looks forward to it but not as immediately as 2016,” Binay said.
“Those who are already reacting, they took it literally. That’s why there are people telling [Pacquiao] to be this or that first, to wait first. But it’s really impossible because of the age requirement,” Binay told reporters on Tuesday.
“If ever, it would be 2022 or 2028,” he said of a prospective presidential run by Pacquiao, who recently signed up as a member of Binay’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
If he wins in 2016, Binay noted that “my term would end by 2022. Imagine, add six years to that, that’s 2028. So his (Pacquiao’s) timing is just right.”
Binay even joked that he might not live to see the day when Pacquiao ascends to the presidency.
“I might already be six feet below the ground by that time,” he said.
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