PEOPLE ASIA: THE BINAYS OF MAKATI TO THE PHILIPPINES
[PHOTO - JOJO BINAY JR HOLDING HIS SON & VICE PRESIDENT J. BINAY, SR: When Vice President Jejomar Binay turned over the reins of Makati's government to his son Junjun, he was clear about the bottom line. "He wants me to go down from my office and walk the streets," says Junjun, "in order to understand what the people want and need." In the following intimate portrait of father and son, Kap Maceda Aguila presents two individuals who are different in nature, but one in purpose.]
MANILA, DECEMBER 12, 2010 (STAR) By Kap Maceda Aguila (People Asia)
It's surprising that this particular People Asia exclusive pictorial and interview is a relaxed family affair.
Granted, it's a Saturday afternoon – one of those particularly lazy Saturday afternoons when people shutter in their houses or take refuge in the air-conditioned confines of malls. But we are not in the Binay abode. Instead, we are way up the 21-story Makati City Hall overlooking the Pasig River. From the library just across the Office of the Mayor, you can see the silt-brown stretch of water below. Beyond it is Mandaluyong City, also holding its own in terms of development and progress against the mirror of the country's financial capital.
City Hall is virtually home for the Binays who, since 1986, have been holding the reins of government – primarily through now Vice President Jejomar "Jojo" Binay Sr. There is no reason for them not to feel at ease in these confines.
The library just across the Office of the Mayor is full of interesting titles – tomes that offer tempting insights into Makati City's most memorable local official thus far. Here, the Dilbert Principle shares shelves with titles such as Caring for Older Persons; Anti-Development State; and Love God, Serve Man. On the opposite wall is an array of curios that proffer clues to the personality of the former City Hall occupant and now VP Jejomar Binay: a hand carved in a Scout's pledge position, a figurine of the mascot of the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Thailand.
If you observe long enough, you will see that despite appearances, the Binays are a typical Filipino family. They are close, very polite ("po" and "paki" punctuate their sentences), and are warm – yes, warm.
Junjun Binay sits behind his desk and gestures to a big plastic box of documents that need his signature – aside from the sheaf of sheets on his table. "I need a bigger table," he sighs. The adjoining room, though much bigger, is purely a ceremonial chamber, for receiving official guests, officiating marriages, and such.
"It's been challenging," he reveals, when asked about his being mayor. "Although I've been a member of the city council for 17 years, being mayor is a totally different story."
Junjun admits that for the first couple of weeks in office he's had to adjust to the pace – like "life in fast forward." He shares: "I have to talk to a lot of people, sign so many documents. It's about time management. I enjoy randomness, but now I have to stick to a routine."
The "mayor" routine for Junjun sees him doing barangay work at 8 a.m., and desk work from 10 am until 7 p.m. Junjun also makes it a point to hear Mass every day. The neophyte mayor, however, is not wet behind the ears. "The learning curve is a lot easier because I've seen my dad do it. Doing it is a totally different story though," he concedes. "There are things that I can and can't do. Those realizations have begun to sink in."
In a way, this thirty-something local official is doing some further growing up with the gift of perspective and wider understanding. For one thing, Junjun the mayor says he gained a better appreciation of how things work. He's always been a councilor; now it's time to sit atop City Hall without the express support of his vice mayor (who ran under a rival party). "It's a hindrance, yes," he admits. "Up until now the council hasn't moved, but that's part of democracy. That's part of the check and balance; it's nothing to be mad about."
A less than ideal council also doesn't mean the city government wouldn't be able to accomplish anything, he quickly adds. The lesson is all too common: "If you want something done, it won't always be easy," Junjun says with a smile.
But the new mayor certainly benefits from the priceless experience and tutelage of his renowned father. The arena may be a little new from this side of the fence, but it certainly isn't alien.
When the elder Binay turned over reins of government to his son, he was clear about the bottom line. "He wants me to go down from my office and walk the streets," says Junjun, "in order to understand what the people want and need. Only then can actual implementation happen. So many people have so many ideas, but do not deliver on them. My father has always been known as a man with a vision, and he had a group that could execute it."
The new mayor is also not about to rest on his or his father's laurels. Makati has gained a lot of momentum, of course. But there are rival upstarts as choice locations for work, business, and leisure. "We have competition that we can't overlook," he declares.
So Mayor Junjun is doing the rounds, talking to representatives of big companies and conglomerates that call his city home. He is now Makati's biggest salesman, come to think of it. "In a few months we will be revising our zoning ordinance, and that will show plans for the city in the next five, 10 years," he says with obvious excitement.
But there are things that Junjun doesn't want to change, such as his close relationship with his four kids. The younger Binay makes it a point to spend quality time with them.
Whenever he can, he takes them to, and fetches them from, school. Fatherhood is doubly important for Junjun now, with the tragic death of wife Kennely Ann in August of 2009 due to complications from childbirth. It's apparent that the strong familial ties of the Binay clan are a welcome source of constant support for the young father and local executive.
Though Junjun shares his father's monicker, the two are very different. After all, Junjun grew up in a world and time vastly different from his father's childhood – and it shows. "My dad has a very strong personality. He's a survivor," says Junjun. Vice President Binay, according to Junjun, is "more combative."
"If you talk about Dad," he reveals with a grin, "you get an impression of 'Rambotito' immediately. For me, that's a last resort; it depends on the situation."
To his father's defense Junjun shares that the elder Binay can be mild-mannered and reserved – such as when people (i.e., the press) don't see him. "He's different when he's in the office (referring to the City Hall)," observes the mayor.
One inarguable fact is that Jejomar Binay Sr. has done a lot for Makati – something that Junjun knows only too well. It will be a tough task to move from his father's shadow, but Junjun is determined to see things through. "One of the things he told me is that to maintain the luster of the city, Makati should remain as the premier city of the country. That is a big challenge for me, of course."
Of particular interest to Junjun is bringing the city up to speed in terms of technology. "When it comes to processing permits and such," he explains.
So when he first assumed office, Junjun put his foot down right away: there would be zero tolerance of graft and corruption. Key offices were revamped, and dubious characters were removed. It was a shakeup that people didn't expect, and one that Makati City sorely needed. But these are stop-gap measures, he qualifies. "What I have to do right now is to create another office." Junjun envisions a computer-assisted process that does away with fixers and other unsavory "facilitators."
The idea, he says, is that he hates seeing queues. "Pag may pila, gagawa at gagawa ng paraan ang tao na mapabilis (If there are queues, people will find ways around them). People should realize they don't need anyone's help to speed a process along," Junjun insists.
Another key goal for Mayor Binay is to professionalize City Hall. They are actually working with image consultants to make it a corporate environment. "We want to train our employees, and even our traffic enforcers on, say, how they relate to a motorist they want to issue a ticket to," he explains.
In that regard, says the mayor, they're off to a good start.
As a matter of courtesy, Junjun discusses his initiatives with his father. "And he'd tell me, anak, ikaw na ang mayor. Bahala ka na diyan (Son, you're the mayor. It's up to you)."
For Makati citizens, one of the good things about this father-to-son turnover is the obvious continuity of what works in Makati. "In addition, I also get to choose from his programs that are good, although he was never able to implement," says Junjun.
His dad also looks out for him – something that fathers do anyway. Junjun says the elder Binay prevailed on him to attend a personality development workshop with actress Gina Alajar. "She said I was too serious, and that I should go out," he enthuses. "I now try to do so at least once a week – always keeping Sundays free for my family."
The mayor avoids exposing himself to the press whenever possible. Easier said that done, of course, and Junjun found himself being linked to the controversial presidential sibling Kris Aquino.
"You must have noticed that I've been very quiet, but when they (the press) caught me, I just said: 'Any person would be flattered with what she said so I thank her, but at the same time, let's pray for her for she's going through a very difficult period of her life. Let's pray for her happiness.' Ganun na lang, yung hindi masyado (That's it, not too) mushy… if there's ambiguity it just prolongs the issue. If I can avoid the media I politely decline," Junjun shares, and grins.
Vice President Jejomar "Jojo" Binay is the quintessential survivor in every sense of the word. The second in a brood of three, he is the lone surviving child of Diego Binay and the former Lourdes Cabauatan. At nine, his mother died – leaving him in the care of his Uncle Ponciano in Makati. Jojo then put himself through school with hard work under his uncle's roof. He'd go to market, wash and iron clothes, and even feed and clean the family pig.
"Have you smelled corn soaked in water? Its stink sticks to your hands," VP Binay says in Filipino. And at that time, there was no commercially available pig feed, so the young Jojo would go around the neighborhood for leftovers that he could mix into slop for the pig.
Every day, his Tito Ponciano would rouse him from sleep at five so he could do his chores. Part of Jojo's routine was sunning (tinatambang) the chickens – among them aggressive fighting cocks that would peck his hand painfully.
A true product of the country's public school system, Jojo Binay graduated with honors from the Philippine Normal College Training Department, and the University of the Philippines Preparatory School. He earned a degree in political science and then took up law at UP and passed the bar in 1968.
When Jojo Binay made off with the Vice Presidency, not a few people were taken by surprise. Not the former Makati City mayor. If you ask him, his partymates and supporters did not give much credence to the pre-poll surveys that had Binay running a distant third. It was much different from what they had been seeing on the ground, he says.
"It seemed something was wrong in the surveys because they were leading us by so much. It was unbelievable," he maintains, and reveals: "Senator Enrile told me 'These people are in for a surprise'."
In hindsight, the Vice President says the surveys did some good because "our rivals became overconfident. We flew under the radar as it was (senators) Roxas and Legarda all the way. Sila ang nagkainan (They cannibalized each other's votes)."
The stern-looking, rarely-smiling Jojo Binay, through his years in public service, has not exactly been a darling of the press. In fact, his in-your-face style has indeed earned him the monicker of "Rambotito."
Binay qualifies, though, that not all media are unfair. However: "There are media that seem to have a management policy of boxing in some people (unfairly) while helping others," he observes. "Then when you talk about frequency or visibility of exposure, you have some people always on the front page, while others are always on the inner page – especially if it's about addressing issues hurled at them. It will be good if you're given an opportunity to correct a wrong."
When Jojo Binay first assumed the mayoralty of Makati in 1986 (he was first appointed OIC by President Cory Aquino after the EDSA Revolution), the fiscal picture wasn't exactly pretty as the city had little more than P200 million in its coffers, and had almost the same amount in debt.
Jojo prioritized key concerns, still remembering the collective acronym today: ARISE (Action for Revenue, Infrastructure, Social Services, and Education). "In all my years as Mayor, we never had any deficit spending and our revenue went in the billions – P11 billion was the last figure," he boasts.
Truly, Makati City has risen from the financial funk it was in, and is now a bustling mecca of commerce and finance. Its public schools all have four-and-a-half well-designed floors, science rooms, and others have speech laboratories. "Our public schools are not far from private-school quality," the Vice President insists.
The Vice President envisions doing what he did in Makati for the rest of the country. It looks good on paper, but is it feasible, really? For one thing, the revenue disparity among the cities may render the vision of national prosperity and progress more of a pipe dream.
Binay doesn't shirk, saying: "We have to increase local government revenue. One way to do that is to veer away from traditional sources of revenue such as taxes, penalties, interest and banks, and the like. I also increased our savings (in Makati), then we involved our citizens in financial requirements. It's right to help the poorest of the poor, pero yung may kaya naman, di na dapat libre yun (the rich needn't get things for free)."
It's all about financial management – and getting money where you can, he underscores. "We engage in business, and we look after revenues. We invest our T-bills where we think we can earn."
The countryside can't be excluded from progress because they already have an abundance of natural resources that haven't been tapped simply because they have no means of doing so. Thus, Binay envisions a sort of a modified welfare state where the haves support the have-not-yets.
After publicly vying for (and losing) the Department of Interior and Local Government portfolio, Jojo Binay has accepted the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council position – and maintains that former Vice President Noli de Castro had nothing to do with it. When the two talked, he was already appointed by President Noynoy Aquino, he reveals. What influenced him to take the task on was Gawad Kalinga's Tony Meloto – a long-time partner in Makati's housing projects.
And, no, he doesn't feel like an outsider in an LP-dominated Cabinet. There's no animosity between him and the President, Binay maintains. "May pinagsamahan naman kami. Kaibigan ko siya, at alam naman niya na tinatanaw ko na utang na loob na kung sino si Jojo Binay ay dahil kay Pangulong Cory (We have gone through a lot. He's my friend, and he knows that I owe President Cory for what I am now)," he says.
As for his children, there's obvious pride in Jojo Binay when he talks about them (Junjun and Abby) going into public service, and insists their hearts are in the right place. "Yung magkapatid na yan, makikita mo di plastic yan (Those siblings are sincere)," he says. "The downfall of many who run for public office is that when they get elected, you see hindi bukal sa kanila ang yumakap at maglingkod sa bayan. Habang kinukunan ng litrato dun sila yumayakap sa tao (it's not natural for them to serve and embrace their constituents. They only do so for a photo opportunity)."
His most crucial piece of advice for Junjun and Abby can very well be taken to heart by the lot of public servants: "Mahalin mo ang ating kababayan (Love your fellow citizens). Your success will depend on how well you have delivered services. Kailangan ang puso ay wag ihihiwalay sa taumbayan. (Your heart must always be with the people)."
When we ask Jojo Binay about what lies ahead for him, he waxes poetic. "Being the President is destiny – it is a convergence of events. If the opportunity is there, okay. If not, okay."
One thing for sure: Jojo Binay says he has left Makati City to the next generation of public servants.
On the helipad of the Makati City Hall, father and son take time off between shots to survey the cityscape that spreads out to a horizon obscured by clouds and haze. The younger points to some distant location and talks, as the father listens intently. There's no mistaking that they're talking shop – planning, no doubt, how to bring their city to greater heights. These are Makati's Binays or perhaps more correctly, this is the Binays' Makati.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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