IN HIS letter to the editor, George del Mar presented possible scenarios should Vice President Jejomar Binay capture Malacañang in 2016 (“Next president after Jojo,” Opinion, 7/16/15). The possibility that he would be succeeded by his son (Junjun, the suspended mayor of Makati) or daughter (Nancy, presently a senator) cannot be discounted. In his campaign sorties, the Binay patriarch has been bragging: “Ganito ang ginawa namin sa Makati, ganyan din ang gagawin namin pag naging presidente na ako!
We all know what the Binays have done in Makati. As soon as the father grabbed the reins of power as its officer in charge in 1986, he never let go. When he could no longer seek reelection, he made his wife, Elenita, pinch-hit for him and continue warming his seat as mayor. After his wife completed one 3-year term, he returned to City Hall. Again, having exhausted the limit of another three 3-year terms, he had his son, Junjun, take over! Got the picture already? Other children and grandchildren may just be waiting in the wings!
The Binay dynasty’s political machinery has become formidable. They are now well-entrenched within the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity/sorority, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, etc., all with mindlessly rabid, card-bearing members spread across the entire archipelago. And with officials of roughly 650 “sister cities” all over the country which owe them big time for free trips and on-the-house accommodations and meals in “Makati Friendship Suites” all year round, who can top that?
“Veep post best for Grace,” blared the July 16 Inquirer headline reporting on Sen. Serge Osmeña’s predilections. Politically inexperienced, Sen. Grace Poe needs the apprenticeship. She can just “lend some of her sheen” to presidential aspirant Mar Roxas who seems stuck in a rut, Osmeña reportedly opined.
We totally disagree. Elitist Roxas doesn’t have a Chinaman’s chance against “poor (kuno)-looking” Binay. We saw that happen in 2010. P-Noy was immensely popular then, but none of his aura or “sheen” could rub off on Roxas.
This country needs another Cory against yet another threat to our decent way of life. “Inexperienced” in corruption, she was a catalyst for our moral regeneration. Poe’s lack of experience is no argument against the ineluctable need to find a candidate who can put up a good fight and put an end to the Binay dynasty. With a pure heart, she should have no problem when the people rise with her to the challenge and walk her through the right path.
—ULYSSES BERMUDEZ UY, uberutoo@gmail.com