#StopBinay protesters call on VP not to run in 2016

Around a thousand people walked for a peaceful protest along Ayala Avenue in Makati City on Wednesday afternoon calling for Vice President Jejomar Binay to stop his presidential ambition.

Chants of “Stop Binay” rang out as the people walked from the freedom park in Makati going to the Ayala Triangle along the city’s business district.

Sounds of drums and whistles echoed through the sidewalks and underpass of Ayala as protesters troop to the Ninoy Aquino monument near the Ayala Triangle.

“If government is too timid about treating him, why don’t we the people speak up,” musician Jim Paredes, one of the organizers, told reporters during the event.

Paredes said the protest dubbed #StopBinay started with a group of online people.

“We have finally walked our talk. We expected around 200 people but many showed up,” he said.

Musician Leah Navarro, who is also one of the organizers, said she was amazed with the number of people who attended the protest.

“We did not expect this,” she said, citing the people who voluntarily joined the peaceful protest.

Paredes said Binay, who has ambitions for the presidency, should “at least answer the charges against him.”

He said Binay’s claim that the corruption allegations hurled against him was “politically motivated” is a lame answer.

“What he wants to do is win and take out all this (corruption) cases,” he said.

Azazel de Mayo, who is a resident from Makati was among the hundreds who joined the protest.

De Mayo, who has been a Makati resident for seven years, said nobody urged her to join the protest, saying the corruption allegations against the Binays maybe true.

She said she won’t hesitate to join another rally if given the opportunity. TVJ