Ex-VP Binay files COC for senator in Eleksyon 2022

Former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay on Thursday filed his certificate of candidacy for senator in Eleksyon 2022.

He will run under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the party which he founded.

“We learned during this pandemic how the people have been deeply neglected. We need to fix this,” Binay said in a statement.

The former vice president said the government must prioritize the four million Filipinos who lost their jobs, more than three million families who are experiencing hunger, and the thousands of small businesses that were forced to close down due to the COVID-109 pandemic.

“Looking forward, we should work to rebuild our economy in a way that puts priority on creating stable jobs. We should reform our health care system. And the safety, welfare, and well-being of the people should always be our foremost concern,” he said.

“I have been in public service for more than 30 years. This is what I will offer to our people,” he added.

News about Binay’s senatorial bid in 2022 were first reported in July after Senate President Vicente Sotto III bared talks with the former vice president.

Sotto said Binay will join their senatorial slate for Eleksyon 2022. Sotto will run for vice president with Senator Panfilo Lacson, who will run for president in next year’s polls. They filed their COCs on Wednesday,

However, UNA issued a statement last October 5, saying nothing has been finalized yet.

“UNA is still in talks with other organizations/political groups and is in the process of adopting senatorial candidates from these parties who share UNA’s vision and platform of government,” acting UNA secretary-general JV Bautista said.

In 2016, Binay lost the presidential race to then-Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, finishing fourth with over five million votes. He also lost during the 2019 elections when he sought the congressional seat of the first district of Makati City.

Should he win a Senate seat in 2022, he will be working with his daughter, Senator Nancy Binay.—AOL, GMA News