Romero vs Romero

The nerve of Vice President Jojo Binay comparing himself to Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who passed recently!

It’s like a tricycle comparing itself to a Mercedes Benz.

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“His political will and pragmatic approach to governance was an inspiration in rebuilding Makati after the 1986 Edsa revolution from a bankrupt municipality to the country’s premier city providing unparalleled social services to its constituents,” says Binay of the Father of Singapore.

He is completely without shame!

What was there to rebuild in Makati when it was already economically bustling and vibrant long before he took over as the town’s officer in charge in 1986?

Makati has become what it is today because Binay’s predecessor, Mayor Nemesio Yabut, was a very successful entrepreneur and attracted big business to the premier town.

I can attest to this because I covered Makati as a correspondent for the Times Journal, now defunct.

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The diminutive Binay, in the early days of his being mayor of the premier city, was trying to mimic the gait and manners of the tall, manly Yabut.

Yabut was loved by his constituents because he didn’t steal a single centavo from them as he was a billionaire.

If you ask Makati City Hall old-timers, they will tell you Yabut dug into his own pocket for the minor expenses of the town that needed to be disbursed immediately.

(As an aside, he’s like billionaire Pepito Alvarez, Palawan governor, who sometimes advances the expenses for the province when the capitol’s funds are running low.)

Since he fell short of imitating Yabut, Binay resorted to looking “kawawa” (pitiful) which becomes him. Ordinary, simple folks have come to love this “look. ”

And because Binay comes from the ranks of the poor, as he always claims, he knows their simple joys, like receiving cakes on their birthdays and groceries on Christmas.

What the poor don’t know is that they are being fried in their own fat because the goodies they receive come from people’s money.

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Son, honor thy father.

This message, an injunction from the Ten Commandments, should be addressed to Michael “Mikee” Romero, eldest son of tycoon Reghis Romero II.

Father and son are locked in a bitter fight over the leadership of Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI), owner and operator of one of the most modern facilities in the country.

Reghis is chairman of HCPTI while Mikee is its president and CEO.

In 2013, Reghis took over the operations of the facility due to differences with Michael in managing it, leading to a bitter war between father and son.

The battle turned uglier when heavily-armed men attempted twice to take control and possession of the 10-hectare port facility in Vitas, Tondo, Manila, away from Reghis and the board.

Both attempts were unsuccessful.

While it is not clear who ordered the clandestine attempt at takeover, fingers point to the bitter father-son battle.

Early this year, Reghis was able to secure a preliminary injunction in his favor as the Court of Appeals (CA) upheld his control and management of the port facility.

But a campaign is reportedly in the works to discredit the CA justices who issued the injunction.

For fighting his father, people say Mikee is damaged goods because he would be perceived as a greedy and heartless person.

If he could go against his own flesh and blood to whom he owes his provenance, he could go against anyone else.

Who would dare trust him then?