Jejomar Binay | Prepys' Homepage

Will Erap carry the torch for UNA if Binay withdraws?

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, 2014 photo.

There are those who believe that if Vice President Jejomar Binay does not push through with his announced presidential bid in 2016, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada will carry the opposition torch.

I seriously doubt it.

And it all boils down to money- at least P10 billion needed to finance a presidential campaign.

Although Binay is putting up a brave front, the freezing of his bank accounts as ordered by the Court of Appeals has the effect of paralyzing his campaign.

And that’s not the end of his political woes. Anytime in the coming days or weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to decide on the petition of the Office of the Ombudsman to lift the temporary restraining order on its suspension of Mayor Junjun Binay. If that is lifted and Junjun is out of City Hall, the Binays lose Makati, their cash cow.

Sure there’s still Senator Nancy Binay and Rep. Abigail Binay (2nd district) but their positions do not give them access to the enormous funds of Makati City.

In 2013, many were surprised when the popular vice mayor of Manila Isko Moreno abandoned his longtime political partner,then Manila mayor Alfredo Lim, and agreed to be the running mate of the former president for the leadership of the country’s premier city.

It was widely believed that there was an understanding between Estrada and Moreno that the former would only serve for one term and the former “That’s Entertainment” talent would finally have his turn as Manila mayor in 2016 with Estrada’s son with Laarni Enriquez, Jake Ejercito, as running mate.

Last March, when the Supreme Court dismissed he disqualification suit against him and affirmed that the pardon granted by then president Gloria Arroyo in 2007 restored his political rights including running for public office, he anounced that he was thinking of running for re-election in Manila and that Moreno would be running for senator.

He also said he has had enough of the presidency and would rather concentrate in reviving the glory Manila.

In the 2010 elections, when Estrada pulled a surprise by beating high-spender Manny Villar of the Nacitonalista Party to place second to now President Aquino, his campaign was ragtag compared to his well-oiled 2008 presidential campaign (which he won against Jose de Venecia Jr.)

It was rumored that Binay shouldered the bulk of the Estrada-Binay campaign because the then Makati mayor needed Estrada to introduce him to his masa following. It was an effective strategy.

2010 elections campaign

In the UNA 2010 rallies that we attended, there was no grand preparation. Nor did it have big names in showbusiness to entice people to come to the rally. But people filled the town plazas “to see Erap.”
And when they came to see Erap, they got to know Binay.

Binay would not have gotten that kind of masa exposure if he went around on his own at that time.
Even if, as some people say, Binay has already stashed billions of pesos, would he spend that for something he is not sure of winning? He is facing and will still be a subject of, several plunder and graft suits. His wife, Elenita Binay, is also facing graft cases before the Sandiganbayan. It’s due for decision also soon.

They will need all the resources for a very uncertain future.

Why is Estrada now floating the idea that he may make another presidential run?

It’s just a float.

Who knows, it could be used as a leverage to help his son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is in detention now for plunder.

A father would do anything for his son.

Will Erap carry the torch for UNA if Binay withdraws?

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, 2014 photo.

There are those who believe that if Vice President Jejomar Binay does not push through with his announced presidential bid in 2016, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada will carry the opposition torch.

I seriously doubt it.

And it all boils down to money- at least P10 billion needed to finance a presidential campaign.

Although Binay is putting up a brave front, the freezing of his bank accounts as ordered by the Court of Appeals has the effect of paralyzing his campaign.

Sure there’s still Senator Nancy Binay and Rep. Abigail Binay (2nd district) but their positions do not give them access to the enormous funds of Makati City.

He also said he has had enough of the presidency and would rather concentrate in reviving the glory Manila.

It was rumored that Binay shouldered the bulk of the Estrada-Binay campaign because the then Makati mayor needed Estrada to introduce him to his masa following. It was an effective strategy.

2010 elections campaign

They will need all the resources for a very uncertain future.

Why is Estrada now floating the idea that he may make another presidential run?

It’s just a float.

Who knows, it could be used as a leverage to help his son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is in detention now for plunder.

A father would do anything for his son.

LP won’t need Grace if Binay withdraws

May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas greets Sen. Grace Poe and Senate Pres. Frank Drilon in one of the hearings of the Mamasapano massacre. From Filipino.cri.cn

We trust Sen. Grace Poe would be astute in dealing with the reported courtship by the Liberal Party for the 2016 elections with no less than President Aquino and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas leading the wooing.

Although the talks were about the 2016 elections, Grace said there was no discussion on whether the Liberal Party is getting her as its standard bearer or running mate of Roxas, who, reports said, has told his party mates that he wants to push through in 2016 his 2010 aborted presidential plans.

This supported by LP stalwarts Budget Secretary Butch Abad and Transportation Secretary Emilio Joseph “Jun” Abaya saying Roxas will carry the party’s banner in 2016.

Senate President Franklin Drilon even went further. Calling Roxas LP’s “presumptive candidate,” he called on Roxas to declare his intention for the presidency now.

President Aquino and Sen. Grace Poe

“I would take the position that Mar Roxas should now declare his intention. If he is indeed interested- and I think he is – he should declare now his intention that he would want to present himself as a candidate for the Presidency in 2016,” Drilon is quoted in media reports.

Drilon also said he would “prefer a member of the party” as their standard bearer.

Does it mean then what they are offering Grace is to be the running mate of Roxas?

Why would Grace agree to that arrangement when as survey shows, she is the only one who has a good chance of beating the opposition candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay?

The March 20-23 2015 survey of Social Weather Stations showed an ascending Poe closing in on a consistently descending Binay. Asked to choose the best leader to succeed Aquino, 31 percent went for Poe, a 10 percentage points increase from the December 2015 score of 21 percent. Binay, on the other hand, continued his decline from 37 percent last December to 36 percent last March.

Roxas, who was third, was also on the decline. From 19 percent last December, he was down last March to 15 points.

A Roxas vs Binay contest will assure the now- beleaguered vice president the presidency.

If the LP thinks that Poe’s popularity would rub on Roxas if they make her his running mate, they should review the country’s election history. The best example is the 1992 elections when the popularity of Joseph Estrada as guest vice presidential candidate of the Nationalist People’s Coalition was not enough to make businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Jr.win the presidency. (Fidel Ramos won in that election.)

But, will Binay be in the presidential race in 2016?

Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay, Jr.

Binay’s tormentor, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, said with the Court of Appeals freeze order on vice president’s bank accounts, he expects the opposition leader to withdraw by July or August.

Common sense: A presidential campaign would cost at least P10 billion. The bank freeze effectively turned off the faucet for the oil that will grease Binay’s presidential bid.

Even if Binay had stashed billions out of the reach of the court, it is doubtful if he would spend that in an election campaign. Years of treating Makati a Binay fiefdom is catching up on him and his family.

The Sandiganbayan is expected to decide on the graft case against his wife, former Makati mayor Elenita Binay soon. A conviction is a strong possibility.

The Supreme Court is also expected to decide soon on the Ombudsman’s petition to order the Court of Appeals to lift its temporary restraining order on the suspension of Makati Mayor JunJun Binay. If the CA TRO is lifted, Junjun will be out of City Hall and the Binays will lose control of their cash cow.

If Binay is out of the presidential race, the playing field would be leveled among the low-raters. Mar has a fighting chance against say, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr or Alan Cayetano or Chiz Escudero.

The LP won’t need Grace Poe.

Binay warned on joint development with China in Spratlys

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015 Ellen Leave a comment

Vice President Jejomar Binay

While in Jakarta last week representing President Aquino in the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference, Vice President Jejomar Binay articulated what could be a foreign policy shift for the country if he succeeds in his ambition to become president.

“China has all the capital and we have the property so why don’t we try and develop that property as a joint venture?”he said.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio

This is not actually new. Binay disclosed this in an interview with Manila Times’ Efren Danao last year.
Amid concerns expressed by President Aquino and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario over massive reclamations being done by China around their occupied reefs in the disputed Spratlys in South China Sea, Binay further said: “Personally, my feeling is we will continue to insist (on) our sovereignty over those properties but at the same time we hope we can create a situation where we can improve bilateral relations with China.”

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who has been conducting a series of lectures on the South China Sea dispute, said in his lecture last April 27 with judges and justices that joint development of the Spratlys with China is not possible without violating the Constitution.

Carpio said, “China’s offer of joint development in the Spratlys has one pre-condition – that the other state concedes to China indisputable sovereignty over the Spratlys. No claimant state has accepted, or will ever accept, China’s offer because acceptance means the accepting state must immediately vacate any island it occupies in the Spratlys since that is the consequence of admitting China’s sovereignty over the Spratlys.”

Carpio pointed out that the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) is part of Philippine national territory as defined in the Philippine Baselines Law (RA No. 3046, as amended by RA No. 5446 and RA No. 9522) and in Article 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on the National Territory.

“Any President who concedes sovereignty over the KIG to China culpably violates the Constitution and commits an impeachable act,” he said.

Carpio also underscored Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution that mandates the “State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its xxx exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.”

“Conceding to China sovereignty over the Spratlys, whose surrounding waters facing Palawan form part of the Philippines’ EEZ, or even just allowing China to use and enjoy the Philippines’ marine wealth in these waters, violates Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution. Any President who violates this constitutional provision commits an impeachable act,” he said.

This idea of setting aside the issue of sovereignty for a joint development by claimant countries in the disputed waters of South China Sea was tried in 2004 by the administration of Gloria Arroyo.

The Philippines, China and Vietnam undertook the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) over a large portion of the Spratlys. Findings in that “seismic undertaking” would be used in the next phase of the cooperation which was joint development.

Even in the JMSU, they had to refrain from using the word “exploration” which foreigners are banned from undertaking in Philippine territory.

SECTION 2, Article XII of the Constitution cited by Carpio also states that, “The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.”

Another problem with the JMSU was, the area explored was all within the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines. No EEZ of China and Vietnam was explored. It even covered Philippine territory that are undisputed.

Results of that exploration masked as “seismic undertaking” have not been made public but sources said data on the disputed Reed Bank provided by the Chinese to the Philippines was vague.

In 2008, Bayan Muna partylist questioned the JMSU’s legality before the Supreme Court, and the case remains unresolved.

At least, this early, Binay or anybody who wins in the 2016 elections is forewarned.

From the Files: The Binays

March 16, 2015March 16, 2015 Julius Mariveles Leave a comment

THE Department of Interior and Local Government has served today the suspension order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on Makati City Mayor Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr.

The anti-graft body issued March 11 the six-month preventive suspension on Binay and 15 other City Hall officials over charges of alleged corruption in the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II, a report published on gmanetwork.com said.

Junjun Binay is the namesake of his father, the vice-president of the Philippines. He is one of the seven members of the Binay family, most of whom are into politics.

He started his political career as a chairman of the Sangguniang Kabataan or youth council in Makati.

The Binays are among the political families that rose to power after the EDSA People Power Revolt in 1986. Read more about them in this 2007 report of PCIJ former deputy director Jaileen Jimeno originally published on the iReport magazine.

Click on here or on the photo to read the full article.

VICE-PRESIDENT JEJOMARY BINAY, left, with President Aquino during happier times | PCOO Photo