Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ NIñO JESUS ORBETA
Vice President Jejomar Binay played coy when asked to confirm if Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. would be his running mate in 2016, saying the announcement should come from Marcos himself.
In an interview on the sidelines of the 22nd National Public Relations Congress in Makati on Friday, Binay remained secretive about his vice president in 2016.
When asked if a tandem with Marcos is a done deal, Binay said: “Basta ang nabasa ko sa pahayagan, hintayin niyo na lang po na siya ang magsalita, si Marcos.”
“Sabi niya mayroon siyang sasabihin. Abangan natin,” he added of Senator Marcos, the namesake of his father, dictator Ferdinand Marcos who was toppled in a people’s uprising.
A report from the Philippine Star published last Wednesday said that Marcos will announce his presidential bid in a gathering of political leaders in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, citing statements given by top officials of the newly formed Pagkakaisa ng Mga Pilipino Para sa Pilipinas (PPP). But Marcos quickly denied it.
READ: Bongbong: No truth to supposed presidential bid declaration in Pangasinan
Binay had named three choices for his vice president – Marcos, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) vice president Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, and a third choice he refused to name.
READ: Binay: 3 candidates front-runners for my vice
While Marcos from the Nacionalista Party is open to running with Binay, Honasan said a possible tandem called “BiHon” (Binay-Honasan) does not appeal to him and said he prefers to stay at the sidelines and help Binay in his presidential bid.
READ: Honasan finds ‘Bi-Hon’ not to his taste
Binay is eyeing Marcos despite being a lawyer-activist during the Marcos dictatorship. Binay was even a member of the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism (Mabini), which campaigned against the ousted President Marcos’ rule. The group included former Senators Rene Saguisag and Joker Arroyo.
Binay also sang a different tune about the Marcos dictatorship. Even when he was a human rights lawyer-activist detained during the dictator’s rule, Binay said it is time to move on from the issue of thousands of human rights violations during Marcos’ rule, saying it is no longer an issue now.
“Enough of vindictiveness. Let’s move on. Human rights (during the martial law) is no longer an issue,” Binay said when asked about a possible conflict with picking Marcos as his running mate in the 2016 elections.
Aside from Marcos and Honasan, among those mentioned as Binay’s possible running mates are Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and Pag-Ibig Fund president and chief executive officer Darlene Marie Berberabe.
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