United Nationalist Alliance secretary general JV Bautista on Wednesday defended a possible alliance between Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, saying it “could be a very effective combination.”
Bautista was reacting to a comment at the sidelines of a media forum in San Juan that a Binay-Marcos team-up would be perceived by the public as the height of all ironies. Binay, a former human rights lawyer, was once at the forefront of the anti-Marcos struggle.
Bautista countered that the young Marcos should be judged by his public service record and not by the accident of his birth.
Track record
“Bongbong Marcos has his own track record of public service. I think he should be judged on that basis and not on the basis of the accident of being born a Marcos,” Bautista told reporters.
Bautista added that the young Marcos had no hand in the dictatorial rule of his father.
Binay, added Bautista, was already allied with detained Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, the late Marcos’ former defense minister.
“Except for being a part of the Marcos family, [Bongbong] was never part of the machinery of the dictatorship. JPE (Enrile’s initials) was part of the machinery of the dictatorship. If Vice President Binay can now be with JPE, whom he also fought in the past, for the sake of building a better nation, I don’t see why [Binay and Marcos can’t be together],” he said.
Enrile, however, had broken away from the 14-year dictatorship in 1986 and helped lead a people-power revolt that ended Marcos rule.
Last week, Binay was quoted as saying that UNA’s search committee was considering the young Marcos, a member of the Nacionalista Party (NP), as a possible running mate.
One of 5 names
To date, Bautista said UNA has yet to decide on who the Vice President’s running mate will be. He said that the party was considering “five names.” One is a woman and the rest are men, he shared.
He declined to give further clues except to say that all of the possible running mates of Binay were “exposed nationally.”
Among the criteria for Binay’s running mate was that “he or she must stand by the principles of UNA, such as being pro-poor.” Bautista said they are also looking for “somebody who can help the Vice President in the campaign,” in terms of bringing in votes for the tandem. Binay’s running mate should also be as competent as the Vice President, he added.
Bautista said that should Binay and Marcos come together, the regions they come from would represent a “very significant block.” The Ilocos region is the known bailiwick of the Marcoses, while Binay’s home province is Isabela.
“If Region 1 and Region 2 will come together, that’s a very significant block… It could be a very effective combination,” he said.