Self-dubbed ‘Nognog’ was calm, prepared

Vice President Jejomar Binay chats with Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago during a break at the first presidential debate held in Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

INQUIRER.net revisits the first official presidential debate, held a week ago Sunday, with a behind-the-scenes look at each of the five presidential campaigns. This first part, out of five, focuses on Vice President Jejomar Binay—The Editors.

Jejomar Binay sat on the sofa cross-legged—his socks showing, his shoes twiddling—as he listened to the last few reminders before the first presidential debate got underway in Cagayan de Oro City. He noted the guidelines in answering questions, the time allotment, the prohibitions. Looking at the organizers, he listened with ease.

High-ranking officials of the United Nationalist Alliance looked more anxious than the Vice President. UNA President Toby Tiangco, for instance, with his arms resting on his thighs, pressed on about clarifications. But the candidate was visibly the most relaxed.

He was the first to arrive in Cagayan de Oro; he was also the first to arrive at Capitol University, the debate venue. At the airport a day before, Binay had told reporters: “Bakit ako maghahanda? Ang sasabihin ko lang naman ay ang katototohan.”

After the briefing, instead of going through his notes, or rehearse with his strategist, the vice president just lay back on the sofa, laughing and sharing stories with his friends in UNA.

Of all the presidential candidates, Binay was also the only one to personally go through the dry run at the auditorium. He went up to the podium and tested the microphone. He sang a few songs to lighten the mood. Standing all the way at the back of the auditorium, party spokesperson Mon Ilagan, a veteran broadcast journalist and former Cainta mayor, beckoned to the vice president to speak louder.

Binay has a soft voice. Ilagan repeatedly told the vice president to lean closer to the microphone. He would speak up: “Mon! Mon!” but his voice was too soft to be heard all the way to the back. It took several takes before Binay got it right.

On time

Binay arrived at Capitol University almost two hours before the start of the debate—the call time requested by the organizers. He was the early bird; there was supposed to be a briefing with all the presidential candidates, but the rest were late.

At the briefing room, Binay ignored the cameras ogling him.

When his opponent Liberal Party bet Mar Roxas arrived at the holding room, everyone watched to see what would happen. They shook hands.

“Tayo pa talaga ang nauna dito,” Roxas said.

“Oo nga eh,” Binay replied, before silence consumed them both.

Roxas took the seat farthest from Binay. They did not speak after.

The two have been at odds since Binay beat Roxas in the 2010 vice presidential race. Since assuming the role of opposition leader, Binay has lambasted Roxas for his “bumbling” (palpak) performance in several Cabinet positions in government. Binay had especially criticized Roxas’ performance as Interior Secretary when super typhoon Yolanda wrought destruction in Central Philippines. Binay would later call Roxas “sekretarya sa kapalpakan.”

Arriving to break the silence was Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who sat beside Roxas. There was a vacant seat beside Duterte. Binay, the second highest ranking official of the land, stood up to go nearer.

“Tabi tabi na lang tayo,” Binay said, joining his two opponents on the same sofa.

Leftmost lectern 

Finally, the debate. Binay took the leftmost lectern (from the audience’s point of view). Despite the dry run, Binay’s voice still failed to carry all the way to the back of the auditorium. (This reporter seated in front also had a difficult time hearing what Binay was saying).

He started off the debate with a defense: “Dahil sa kagustuhan kong maiahon tayo sa kahirapan, siniraan ako at ang aking pamilya… Ako ay mamumuno dala ang aking karanasan sa tamang namamahala at malasakit sa bayan.”

Binay,  of course, was referring to the corruption allegations lodged against him by this administration—that he rigged several infrastructure projects when he was mayor of Makati City, in exchange for kickbacks.

His one-minute opening statement was a repeat of his script during campaign sorties. But he went on the offensive when Roxas took a swipe against him for acting like a tourist when Binay rode a helicopter to observe the destruction brought about by Yolanda.

Unlike his demeanor during sorties, Binay was calm in blasting Roxas for his bumbling performance during Yolanda, even declaring that the people of Tacloban were angry at Roxas.

“Kung ako ang pinatutungkulan ni Secretary Roxas sa pagkahelicopter, marami akong nakita. Siya, nasaan po siya pagkatapos lumindol [sa Bohol]? Nung nangyari ang [Yolanda] sa Leyte, nawala na siya. Kaya nga po grabe ang galit sa kanya ng mga taga-Leyte dahil sa kapalpakan niya sa paghawak ng Yolanda,” Binay said, in an exchange that was one of the highlights of the first official presidential debate in 24 years.

During commercial breaks, Binay would step down from the platform to go backstage. Later, Binay told this reporter he would rather stay in the wings than on stage. “Anong gagawin ko dyan?” Binay asked. He said he also occasionally went to the bathroom during the breaks.

Past media

When the debate ended, Binay went past the media and ignored questions from reporters. The rest of the candidates entertained queries.

It seems like an irony, given Binay’s position supporting freedom of information. And it might in fact be a campaign tactic for the Binay camp: less talk, less mistake, especially before the media which heavily reported the allegations of corruption against Binay aired during the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings.

In a press briefing in Iligan City the day after the debate, Ilagan denied that Binay was hiding behind his spokespersons. But as the briefing was ongoing, Binay slipped past the media from the restaurant, flanked by his security aides, with reporters looking at him.

Ilagan said he would take up the reporters’ concerns about his inaccessibility with the vice president, and Binay would later grant two chance interviews in Batangas and Quezon after that incident.

Campaign sorties

Three weeks in, and Binay has so far managed to wage a truly nationwide campaign. In his sorties in Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Lanao Del Norte, Misamis Oriental, and Cagayan De Oro, he would walk without a misstep. He would wade through thick crowds of supporters shaking hands and taking pictures with them. Sometimes, an elderly lady or two would kiss him on the cheek, and he wouldn’t mind. One may wonder how Binay, at 73, manages to shrug off the stress of the campaign trail.

In Laguna, reporters rested for almost two hours in a Jollibee branch after lunch. After a midday sortie, Binay had taken his usual nap, which his spokespersons say is his way of regaining his strength to continue his sortie until late in the evening.

No doubt, the candidate is hardworking, dedicated, and persevering; one reporter following him commented that Binay seems to want the presidency the most.

Ground up

Binay’s election strategy is plain and simple: his campaign is from the ground up, working his way through the poorest corners of the country.

Right after the debate, Binay continued the Mindanao leg of his campaign through Cagayan de Oro, then various stops in Misamis Oriental, and lastly, in Pantao Ragat, Lanao Del Norte, motoring on the paved road where on both sides lay vast plantations of coconut trees and cornfields.

“Buti hindi kayo na-ambush, ma’am,” a reporter recalled being told by a resident there. While Binay was in Lanao del Norte, an armed encounter erupted in nearby Lanao del Sur between government troops and foreign and local terrorists. Binay did not stay long in Pantao Ragat.

On the trail, and like a broken record, he would repeat his stump speech of rosy campaign promises: delivering free social services to the poor, scrapping the income tax for earners P30,000 or below monthly, and expanding the administration’s dole out program while weeding out the undeserving beneficiaries.

During sorties, he would waddle to the center of the stage cheered by a throng of indigents, who upon hearing about his arrival would flock to the village gymnasium or covered court bringing with them tarpaulins of support and wearing the shirts bearing Binay’s name, to catch a glimpse of the man they regard as the face of the masses.

In Iligan, an elderly lady wrapped her arms around Binay’s shoulder for a picture. A group of giggling women in Bauan, Batangas kissed Binay on the cheek. In Pantao Ragat, an elderly man tapped Binay’s shoulder, introduced himself as an acquaintance, and upon Binay’s recognition of the man, hugged him back.

Binay’s strength is his ability to blend with the masses. Before the first debate, Binay went to hear Mass at San Agustin Cathedral. He seated himself in the center of the church, and one had to squint hard to see where Binay had gone among the masses.

The crowd’s reaction during sorties was raucous, cheering the loudest when Binay would joke about his complexion, sometimes to the point of making a fool of himself.

“Hindi niyo na kailangan ng diaper. Kasi, naka-saya na kayo, ay wala pang panty!” Binay told the Iligan audience. Binay then squatted and posed like a woman peeing. The elderly women shrieked like groupies.

The crowd’s warm response toward Binay is perhaps an indication that Binay’s rosy promises are actually coming across.

Dark-skinned, short, and stout, the vice president would start his stump speech with the usual ice breaker. He would greet his “cousins” seated in front: his “kasintanda” (the elderly), his “kasing-itim” (the dark-skinned). Then he would tell the story of how his opponents have called him “Nognog,” a comic character from the 1970s whose name reflects his dark complexion (the name is derived from the word “sunog,” or burnt).

“Ang tawag sa akin, nognog na, bansot pa. Maliit na, Negro pa!” Binay told an audience in Iligan city in jest, rousing screams from the crowd. “Nasasaktan din ako ha. May damdamin din po.”

But Binay wears this insult with pride. The name that he claimed his opponents have called him is the very name he now proudly wears, to woo poor voters in his favor. JN

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