Senator Binay seeks re-election, says Makati mayoralty issue to be decided

October 12, 2018

Senator Nancy Binay filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections ( Comelec) Friday morning to seek re-election in the May 2019 midterm polls. Speaking to reporters after filing her COC, Binay said :"I feel that my record as a member of the Senate will speak for itself (if I deserve it).” Binay was a surprise candidate and winner in the 2013 senatorial race, boosted by her father, then Vice President Jejomar Binay. In a separate interview, Binay said the family has to decide who will run for mayor of Makati. Her younger sister Abigail is the mayor but news reports said her brother Junjun wants to run. "We will wait for our parents to arrive this week and we will decide as a family," said Senator Binay. Junjun was disqualified by the Ombudsman from seeking public office after a graft case on a parking building in 2015 but the Court of Appeals last May reversed the Ombudsman's ruling. "If he files his candidacy, we will examine this," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in a TV interview. The senator was accompanied by Junjun when she filed her COC. Binay, the second senatorial candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), said they are discussing which party they will form a coalition with. This, she said, includes the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino of Sen Sonny Angara, and the Nationalist People's Coalition of Senate President Tito Sotto. “I also made a commitment to support my Senate seat-mates,” said Binay. DMS