THE MAYOR WHO LOVES HIS OFFICE TOO MUCH


I read something in the newspaper today that made me wince and chuckle at the same time.

Mayor Jojo Binay of Makati intends to run for president in 2010.

Maybe, he was just joking or it’s probably just a strategy (meaning he really wants to run for vice-president or senator but is touting himself as a presidential material. Iisipin nga naman ng masa ‘pag bumaba na siya bilang kandidato sa pagkasenador, ‘Aba, si Binay, e, pang-presidente utak niyan kaya siguradong magiging magaling na senador ‘yan’) or a bargaining chip (“Hey, let me run as your VP and I will be a martyr and sacrifice my noble dream of being a president.”

A lot of people say that Binay is a good public servant and he probably is (although there are allegations of corruption against him) but I don’t know, I always sense that something is terribly wrong with him as a politician. He seems obsessed with power.

More than twenty years ago, he used to march in the streets, denouncing Marcos, the rotten dictator. He was with the likes of Rene Saguisag, Wigberto TaƱada and Joker Arroyo. They were of consensus that Marcos, aside from the fact that he had terribly messed up the country, was overstaying in MalacaƱang. Nagkakaisa sila sa pagsasabing walang pulitiko o opisyal ng gobyerno ang may karapatan na magtagal sa posisiyon nito kahit pa napakagaling ng pulitikong ito. Every official should always welcome and encourage change and new ideas. They were also vigorously denouncing nepotism in the government.

Binay was elected Mayor of Makati in 1988 and according to Wikipedia, he was reelected in 1992 and 1995 and in 2001 and and 2004 and in 2007. He became the mayor of Makati in 1988 and it’s now 2008 and he’s still the mayor of Makati. That’s how many years? Let me compute it. Ahhm, 2008 minus 1988 equals… ahhm… carry one, then e=mc2, then dibaydibay it by… hmmn (wipes sweat), that’s nineteen years. He had been in power for nineteen long years. Of course, his wife interrupted him and served as Makati mayor in 1998 up to 2001 but she’s also a Binay.

It’s also a given that one of his offsprings (one of them is a congressman and another, a councilor) will succeed Binay in Makati. I won’t be surprised if few years from now, Makati City will change its name to Binay City. Of course, Binay supporters will be quick to say that it’s the people who keep voting him back to office. But whatever happened to the idea of welcoming change and new ideas? Siya lang ba ang may kakayahang mag-mayor sa Makati? And he’s probably winning because the incumbent always has the edge over his opponents. And why is it the he seems scared to let go of power? Is he afraid that Makati would crash without him? Or is he afraid that he would crash without Makati? Jeez, Makati didn’t really soar with him at the helm.

Binay’s supporters are saying that Makati is what it is now (meaning rich and successful like Binay) because of him. That’s not accurate of course, as long as the Zobels, the Ayalas, the Mendozas, err, the big businessmen are in the city, Makati will always be rich irregardless of who their mayor is.

Wait, somebody’s telling me that I’m really stupid in Math. 2008 minus 1988 is equal to 20.

So what’s my point? My point is, baka kapag naupo sa Malakanyang itong si Binay, e, baka hindi na ito tumayo. Baka kapag hindi na niya kayang magpresidente dahil sa katandaan ay papalitan naman siya ng kanyang anak na papalitan naman ng kanyang apo na papalitan naman ng anak ng kanyang apo na papalitan naman ng anak ng anak ng kanyang apo na papalitan naman ng…

The Philippine’s Barack Obama, that’s Binay according to his supporters.

Barack Obama? Barok Obama siguro.

Comments

kc cordero said…
ron,
binay can't win outside of makati city. his relatives in batangas who he transports to makati city every election day are not sufficient enough to land him in the senate or even a veep post in malakanyang.
but his time in makati city will soon be over. as the saying goes, lahat ay dumarating sa hangganan.
and for those binay drumbeaters who are saying that binay is the RP's obama, there's no comparison really aside from being tutong ng balat.
inuman na!
Ron Mendoza said…
yup, the man is delusional if he thinks that he can win a national post. Gusto ko lang ipakita kung anong prinsipyo meron itong si Barok Obama bilang pulitiko. Nilamon niya kung ano ang isinusuka ng grupo nila noon.

Tara!
Anonymous said…
Ron,

This guy is no Obama, balat-Obama siguro, pwede. Ang dating pangalan nito eh RAMBOTITO. Noong 1986, bago, umupo si Cory, eh errand boy lang ito ni Cory at ni Joker. Ang kotse nito kuno eh karag-karag na Volks Beetle.
Fastforward to 2008, mi Fiefdom na siya, the poor side of town of Makati, na source ng kaniyang boto. Pero ang delusion siguro niya ay kasingyaman na rin siya nila Zobel, Ayala, Soriano, Mcmicking at iba pang burgis ng Makati.
Di ba nag sponsor pa ito ng napakamahal na speaker who talked about Leadership,yung ex-Mayor ng New York, Si Rudy Guiliani. Napakamahal ng dinner doon, 200, 000 pesos per plate daw....
Ordinaryong Trapo politician din ito na ng makatikim na ng grasya, eh ayaw ng umalis, masarap kasi eh....
Ron Mendoza said…
Yup, si Rambotito (bulilit na Rambo) nga ito dahil noong EDSA 1, e, humahara-hara ito sa kalye bitbit ang isang UZI.

Santambak ang ganitong klase ng pulitiko, idealist kuno sa umpisa pero pag nakatikim na ng grasya at poder, nagiging mas masahol pa roon sa mga dati nilang tinutuligsa.
Anonymous said…
Ron,

Napakamalas talaga ng Pilipinas, wala tayong version ni Lee Kwan Yew, isang incorruptible na lider. Hindi siya nasisilaw ng salapi, poder at hubris, at iba pang trappings of wealth & power. Meron kayang ganitong Pilipino politician ?
Ron Mendoza said…
Si Ninoy sana. He could have been this country's greatest president.
Anonymous said…
People of the Philippines! Magkaisip na kayo! Huwag puro texting ang laman ng utak nyo! Huwag puro Asero at Enkantasya o kung ano pa yang ek-ek sa TV ang laman ng utak nyo!

Ang isiksik nyo sa kukote nyo eh ang kinabukasan ng buong bansa!

Bumoto ng tama at bantayan ang balota! Huwag bumoto dahil maganda si ganito o guwapo si ganoon. Naku, lintek! Kapag ganyan ang pag-iisip nyo, eh magiging basurahan talaga ang bansang Pinas.

Ano ba? gigising ka ba o ano? Hoy! Naku... dedbol na yata...


hindi po ako si anonymous
ako si.... SixPistols

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