THE VICE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER: MAR-LEN ABIGAIL BINAY-CAMPOS
[PHOTO AT LEFT - Mar-Len Abigail Binay-Campos: Her own woman (People Asia Photo)]
MANILA, OCTOBER 24, 2010 (STAR) PEOPLE ASIA, By Ivy Ong - Abby Binay, lawyer and lawmaker, has lived a life of public scrutiny as daughter of Makati's longest-serving mayor, now more so as the Vice President's daughter.
But Abby is more than her father Jojo Binay's child. She is her own woman.
Binay. One of the most powerful names in the country today as a result of the May 2010 national elections. After all, it is the last name of Jejomar Binay, the Vice President of the Philippines who also happens to be the father of the representative of the Second District of Makati.
Rep. Mar-len Abigail Binay, or Abby as she prefers, practically grew up with politics. Both her dad and her mom Dr. Elenita Binay have served as mayor of Makati City in the past two decades.
"My dad's been in politics for so long," Abby says. "It's normal for us already to have people come to our home asking for help. It's an everyday thing. When people asked me how it felt when I won for Congress in 2007, I thought, there's no difference. I'm still doing what I used to do before going into public service myself, plus the congressional work."
Representing Makati in Congress was Abby's first undertaking in public office back in 2007. Then only 31 years old, she became one of the youngest members to join a Congress made up of veteran politicians. The 2010 elections secured her second term in office; this time, Abby intends to focus on projects for mothers, women and children.
"Now we're planning for subsidized vaccinations for infants and children and subsidized vaccinations against cervical cancer," she says, before adding, "I think it's an offshoot of having a daughter (myself)."
The congresswoman and her husband, Luis Campos, have a seven-month-old baby girl, incidentally the "11th apo (granddaughter) in the family, and born on the 11th of November," she shares.
"Now I understand the bond between mother and child. When I watch movies about it I always feel like crying. I know, to a certain extent, I'd do anything and everything for my child. But certainly not to the extreme."
Abby met her husband at the Ateneo Law School. The two maintained a friendship for many years before finally taking the plunge into a relationship.
"It was more of an intellectual relationship," she recalls. "We couldn't seem to run out of things to talk about. We talk about politics; we talk about business; we talk about anything under the sun. Even up to now, he still amazes me. We don't find it boring. We always have something to talk about."
If Abby didn't go into public service, she would have been equally happy to stay at home and take care of her family. She makes an effort to spend time with her baby, even when Congress is in session, and works from home whenever she can to be a more hands-on mother.
"I wouldn't have minded being a housewife," she says. But fate had other plans for her. Older friends tell her that when she was a little girl, the congresswoman would always say she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up, though she doesn't really remember saying it. She recalls seeing a picture of her fourth or sixth birthday party with a banner that read, "Happy Birthday Atty. Abby!"
"Even when I was little my dad was already brainwashing me to become a lawyer," she jokes.
Her ambition slipped through her mind as time passed. In college, she studied BS Human Ecology Master in Human Settlement Planning at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños.
"It's essentially the study of the impact of man on the environment and the relationship of man to the environment," Abby explains. "It was only in my fourth year when I realized I wanted to become an environmental lawyer."
And she did. She graduated from the Ateneo Law School and passed the Bar in 2002, finally — and actually — becoming Atty. Abby. She practiced with the Mabini (a group of human rights lawyers) for some years and got the chance to work under former Sen. Rene Saguisag as part of the defense counsel for the soldiers involved in the Oakwood Mutiny. But the really difficult part came when she decided to run for Congress, because her father didn't want her to join politics.
"He didn't want people to think of us as a political dynasty," Abby says. "People might say my brother was already a counselor and here comes another child wanting an office in Congress. He really didn't want another Binay to be exposed to politics."
Against her father's will, Abby made a run for it and won. During her first term as congresswoman, she co-authored several bills regarding issues she felt strongly about, and one that was particularly important to her is the Reproductive Health Bill, which she hopes will finally pass into law. As Abby returns for a second term, she also plans to become more active on the environment.
"Now, because of my undergrad (studies), I'm veering towards the environment or the ecology," she says. "I'm actually vying for the chairmanship of ecology. I don't know if I would get it but I want to be able to pass vital legislation regarding the environment."
The funny thing is, though Abby would refuse to budge an inch in standing for what she believes in, it only takes a photo shoot to quell her. This would be the first magazine feature ever published of the congresswoman.
"The only photo shoot I've ever been to was for my pre-nuptials," she says.
She has no idea what her best angle is (it turned out to be the right side), can't do a poker face and stands uncertainly to one side waiting to be told how to pose. Yet she gamely swings her arms in the air and does so about 30 times because the photographer needs several shots.
There is little pomp in Abby in spite of the weight that her surname carries. She acts on her convictions, defying expectations if she must. She may be the daughter of a Binay, but she definitely is her own woman.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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