Binay says women rule Philippines

MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay strongly agrees with the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham who once said that “Power has no sex.”

But Binay asserts that “while this may be true elsewhere, in this country, the power to change the world is clearly feminine.”

Speaking at the national convention of the Lady Municipal Mayors Association of the Philippines at a Pasay City hotel on Wednesday, Binay said  that “while the rest of the globe may seem to be a man’s world, the Philippines has always been a woman’s domain.”

“In our homes, the father is called the head of the household. But I am sure you are all aware that this title is ceremonial at best,” he said.

The former mayor of Makati pointed out that “while all mayors work hard to attend to the needs of their populations, lady mayors have an undeniable magic in the way they run their towns.”

“Your attention to detail is uncanny and you see at first glance what we might uncover only after a second pass. Your desire to get things done quickly is matched by your fiscal prudence,” he added.

While working within budgets, lady mayors “demand the best that you can get for your towns, and drive very hard bargains to get what is needed.”

“In all that is done, it is equally important to impart a spirit of beauty and elegance. There is no such thing as good enough. For a lady mayor, things are done well or not at all. And your towns and provinces are better off because of this,” said Binay.

As men, Binay said, “we view our constituents as shareholders in the futures of our cities. They are our bosses. You, on the other hand, look at them as so much more than that. To you, they are your children, and what you work for is their inheritance: a town or city they can proudly call their own, and hand down to their descendants in time.”

“It is perhaps for this reason that women have succeeded where we have not. In particular, lady mayors are able to bring sectors in the community together faster. In cases where community factions are at odds, lady mayors are capable of brokering peace and mending fences with a disarming charm that they can only dream of being blessed with. Their solutions tend to be creative and when a lady mayor issues an appeal for all to work together, it is taken to heart.”

According to Binay, “when a man does the same thing, it is usually viewed as rhetoric. Perhaps, this is why my friends are quick to tell me that for all my years of progressive service, Dr. Elenita Binay (his wife and also a former Makati mayor) was a better mayor.”

In 1986, Vice President Binay was named OIC mayor of Makati by then President Corazon Aquino. Elected mayor the following year, he served his post until 1998.

His wife succeeded him when his third successive term ended. But he ran the city again from 2001 to 2010 before running successfully in the last vice presidential race.

In his remarks, Binay recalled that during a recent speaking engagement in the South, he “discovered that women are playing key roles in Muslim Mindanao.”

“Apart from teaching in schools, they work to increase community hygiene and health, conduct parenting seminars and values campaigns and even voter education. They work tirelessly to press for livelihood projects, organize cooperatives and access to loans. And even with their faiths, women religious leaders, or aleemat, are active agents in promoting peace and development in Mindanao. All these efforts are directly related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that we have pledged to meet,” he said.

“While the rest of the world longs for the day when women gain equality with their men, let us show them that the Filipina has more than just access to equal opportunity. Let us show them that the strength and heart of the Filipina leader is a cornerstone of our future,” he added.