Junjun Binay says sister Abby 'desperate' for saying he can't run in 2019 polls
Former Makati mayor Junjun Binay on Friday called her sister, incumbent Mayor Abby Binay, "desperate" for saying he cannot run in the 2019 elections because of a 2015 Office of the Ombudsman ruling perpetually disqualifying him from holding public office.
"For me, that is a sign of desperation. Wala namang dahilan para ‘di ako tumakbo," Binay told reporters. "There is no legal impediment in my bid to seek public office because the ruling is not yet final and executory."
Sought for comment, Abby Binay said it was the media and not her who cited her brother's perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
"I did not cite his perpetual disqualification. I understand the reports were based on the memo issued by the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) to the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) stating that Junjun is disqualified to run. We have to defer to the DILG and COMELEC on this matter," she said.
The Court of Appeals in May reversed the Ombudsman ruling against Binay, the eldest son of former Vice President Jejomar Binay. The case was in connection with the allegedly overpriced construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.
Both Junjun and Abby have expressed interest in running for mayor in Makati in 2019.
"Hindi pa kami umaabot sa Supreme Court. Why would she say that? Ito na lang ba ang paraan para manalo ang kapatid ko? ‘Yung di ako tumakbo? That will not hold water," Junjun Binay said.
Binay earlier disclosed that 13 out of 15 Makati councilors have expressed support for his possible mayoral bid in 2019.
He boasted that he carries the "Binay brand, the brand of governance that my father did for the people of Makati."
"She has said many times na ibang Binay siya, na 'di niya gagawin ‘yung ginawa ng tatay ko, na hindi siya ‘yung bababa para lumapit sa mga tao, and we have seen that already," he said.
Despite his strong words, Binay said he is not ruling out reconciliation.
"Let us not finish the story yet. Let us wait for my father and mother [Elenita]. We will sit down and discuss this as a family," he said.
Members of the Binay family — Jejomar, Elenita, Junjun and Abby — have served as mayor of Makati City since 1986. Junjun and Abby's sister, Nancy, is an incumbent senator seeking re-election in 2019. —KBK, GMA News