They have not made categorical statements so far. But from their recent activities and body language, it would seem that Senator Richard Gordon and Makati Mayor Jejomar are preparing for 2010. For the sake of wider choice, we should welcome their entry.
Gordon is very busy these days. At one time, I noticed he was in Panay, supervising the activities of the Philippine National Red Cross of which he is the chairman. In another time, he is in Mindanao, holding dialogues with officials on how to alleviate the effects of natural disaster.
In Makati, Mayor Jejomar Binay led the countdown to usher in 2009 and bid goodbye to the troubled year that was 2008.
“If New York (the United States), Sydney (Australia) and Moscow (Russia) have their own grand celebration, this is our version,” Binay said.
“This is also our way to share love and to lead Filipinos in welcoming 2009 with hope and optimism.”
In neighboring Bonifacio Global City, streaks of red, yellow and green lit up the sky above The Fort where the Taguig city government threw a New Year countdown and street party for around 5,000 people, highlighted by a spectacular 15-minute fireworks presentation by the award-winning La Mancha pyrotechnics group.
Jejomar “Jojo” C. Binay (November 11, 1942) is the current mayor of the City of Makati in the Philippines. He is also the president of the United Opposition (UNO), National President of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) and National President of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
Background
Jejomar Cabauatan Binay was born in Paco, Manila but grew up in Makati with his uncle, Ponciano, after Binay’s parents – Diego Medrano Binay of Bauan, Batangas and Lourdes Cabauatan of Cabagan, Isabela – passed away.
At a young age, Binay learned to rely on his resourcefulness and determination. He went around his neighborhood to gather slop for his uncle’s backyard piggery, looked after his uncle’s fighting cocks, and went to market daily.
DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines—Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay this week signed sisterhood agreements with three towns and two cities of vote-rich Pangasinan but he said this was not meant to push his bid for the presidency in 2010.
Binay said Makati has been signing sisterhood agreements with various local governments even before he announced his interest to join the presidential race last month.
He said Makati has forged sisterhood ties with at least 130 cities and towns in the country.
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Vowing to take the fight outside the country’s financial district, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay announced his bid for the presidency on Tuesday as he marked his 66th birthday in city hall.
More than 2,000 supporters from the city and the provinces carrying streamers like “Obama of the Philippines” and “Jojo Binay for President” gathered at 7 a.m. for a Thanksgiving Mass as they waited for the mayor to make the declaration.
In his speech, Binay, who is also the United Opposition president, criticized the Arroyo government by bringing up issues like the national broadband network scandal and the fertilizer fund scam and said there was need for another “revolution.”
MANILA, Philippines – Former President Joseph Estrada on Tuesday said Mayor Jejomar Binay’s performance as Makati City’s chief executive indicates he has the capacity to run the country in the future.
“Si Mayor Binay din naman ay may kapasidad, may abilidad. Napakita ni Mayor Binay yung kanyang kakayahan bilang chief executive ng premier city ng Pilipinas (Mayor Binay has the capacity and the ability. He has shown this as the chief executive of the country’s premier city),” Estrada said in an interview over QTV’s Balitanghali.
Earlier in the day, Binay declared his presidential bid for the 2010 elections during the celebrations of his 66th birthday at the Makati City Hall.
MANILA, Philippines — In a turnaround, the Arroyo administration Sunday deferred the suspension of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and lifted the freeze order on all but one of the banks holding the funds of the city.
The twin moves on the crucial last week of the election campaign came after the media reported that Binay had asked his supporters to thank President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for ensuring his reelection by harassing him.
Ms Arroyo’s allies had also assailed the timing of the suspension and the freezing of Makati’s assets.
“It’s a case of too little, too late,” Binay said of the latest moves taken by Malacañang.
“It will not change the fact that this regime has again misused the powers of government for political ends at the expense of public welfare,” he said in a statement.
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) softened on Sunday its hardline stance against the Makati City government for alleged unpaid taxes by unfreezing the city’s bank accounts not covered by tax claims.
In a press statement, BIR Commissioner Jose Mario Buñag said he ordered the agency’s regional office to limit its freeze order to the amount that covered the tax claim.
“To enable the uninterrupted delivery of basic services to the people of Makati and the payment of salaries of city employees, I have been instructed by the President [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] to take the necessary steps to limit the writ of garnishment issued by the Bureau gainst the City of Makati to the amount of unpaid taxes and increments being claimed by the BIR,” he said.
Armed with a suspension order from the Ombudsman, officials of the Interior department on Friday moved to evict Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay from the City Hall, a little over a week before elections.
About 2,000 supporters of Binay, who is heavily tipped to retain his mayoral post in the May 14 polls, quickly gathered outside the new Makati City Hall shortly before 10 p.m. in an outpouring of support for the opposition leader.
It was not immediately clear why the order was being served late at night before the weekend, where the courts — where Binay could challenge the order — are closed.
MANILA, Philippines — Reelectionist Mayor Jejomar Binay and his entire ticket were proclaimed winners early Thursday, sweeping all elective posts in the financial capital, 20-0.
Binay emerged as the victor in the mayoral race by an overwhelming margin, capturing 198,814 of the votes cast from the city’s two districts against administration Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid’s 22,462.
His other little-known opponent, Elias Dulalia, had 1,243 votes, based on the final count of all 1,834 precincts canvassed at the Makati Coliseum by the local Commission on Elections office.
