Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29) — Makati City Mayor Abby Binay is confident her reelection will be easy despite being pitted against her brother Junjun Binay.
“Mainit lang ang panahon. Mukha namang ‘di magiging mainit ang labanan (Only the weather is hot. It looks like it’s not going to be an intense fight),” Abby Binay said Friday, the first day of campaigning for local candidates.
Her proclamation rally was fiesta-like, with sing-and-dance performances to entertain thousands of Makati residents in the audience.
She was joined by her father, Vice President Jejomar Binay who is gunning for a seat in Congress to represent the first district of Makati.
Abby Binay stressed she doesn’t see the 45-day campaign period as a challenge because of her good performance in the past three years as Makati Mayor.
“Pakiramdam ko nakaungos ako dahil sa tatlong taon na nakapaglingkod ako ng tama. So parang ito, chill chill lang tayo sa darating na 45 days,” she said.
Translation: “I feel that I have an advantage because of the three years that I was able to serve the public well. So now, we can chill for the next 45 days.”
Her younger brother, Junjun Binay, chose to have his proclamation party Saturday afternoon, telling CNN Philippines in a text message that he does not want to inconvenience people because of the traffic it may cause.
The former Makati Mayor was supposed to run for re-election in 2016, but was removed from office by the Office of the Ombudsman over graft charges. The Binay family fielded Abby Binay to take his place and she won.
Junjun Binay earlier told CNN Philippines he is banking on his father to keep his word about being neutral in the 2019 elections. The Binay patriarch meanwhile said he went back to the campaign trail because he is ready to join politics now and believes he can do more. When asked why run for congressman, he said there are no other vacant posts because his daughter Nancy is already in the Senate.
Abby and Junjun Binay are up against four other candidates for the mayoral post: Carmel Alanzalon, Renato Bondal, Wilfredo Talag, and Ricardo Yabut.
Nearly 400,000 voters will choose the next leader of financial hub Makati City.
