Position Paper

The end of President Aquinos term is fast approaching. In the mass of

politicians in the Philippines today, five presidentiables have emerged: Aquinos
anointed successor Manuel Mar Roxas II, incumbent vice-president Jejomar Jojo
Binay Sr., Davao City mayor Rodrigo Rody Duterte, political veteran Miriam
Defensor-Santiago, and the relatively new Senator Grace Poe (Commission on
Elections [COMELEC], 2016). The five of them have risen to be the frontrunners for
this years presidential elections. Yet the masses seem to be divided as to who the
16th president of the Republic of the Philippines should be. Each of the five has his or
her own pros and cons, and each has the potential to instill a change in the current
state of the counter. After some analysis, however, I have come to the conclusion
that the best candidate for presidency is none other than former Makati City mayor
and current vice-president Jojo Binay.
The first argument that is usually made against voting for Binay as president
is that he is corrupt (Adel, 2016; Estanislao, 2015). First of all, if corruption is the
case, Binay is not the only presidentiable who could be considered corrupt. The
most notorious of the other candidates who could be considered corrupt is probably
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. He himself has admitted to supporting and being linked to
criminal-killing vigilante groups which perform extrajudicial activities in order to
ensure the peace in his area (ABS-CBN News, 2015; Cullen, 2006; The Social
Scientist, 2015). Mar Roxas, on the other hand, is guilty of using the expanded
Bottom-up Budgeting plan or BuB (Alvarez, 2016) to bribe people into voting for him
(InterAksyon.com,

2015).

Bribery,

as

defined

by

the

Wex

Legal

Dictionary/Encyclopedia (n.d.), can be offering something of value to influence the

actions of individuals holding public or legal duty. Roxas specifically mentioned how
the BuB would give one billion Pesos to each barangay, notably in an area with a
large voting population (Alvarez, 2016). Miriam Santiago, on the other hand, was
once alleged to have unexplained wealth after obtaining a lot and building a
mansion with an estimated cost of at least about fifty million Pesos (Chua, 2012).
The value of said estate was disproportionate to her salary at the time. Grace Poe,
on the other hand, does not seem to be guilty of corruption and cannot be removed
as a choice for that reason. There are, however, valid reasons not to vote for her
which will be explained in a later portion of this paper. All the previously mentioned
1

details can be defined as corruption (The Law Dictionary, n.d.). In the case of Binay,
he has received support from Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who has countered the
arguments made by those who persecute him on grounds of corruption (Sy, 2016).
Even Binay himself and his camp have challenged such allegations, saying that the
evidence put up against him is lacking and that the arguments of his opposition are
flawed (Office of the Vice President [OVP], n.d.; Sy, 2016). Although this does not
absolve him of any corruption he may actually have performed, it shows at the very
least that the vice president is willing to fight in order to prove his innocence and is
open to being transparent. Besides corruption, the only other strong arguments
against Binay are the ones against his family (Antiporda, 2015; Hogaza, 2014) and
against him as a person (von Einsiedel, n.d.). For the former, as with the previously
mentioned allegations, the Binay family has also taken the time to debunk them
(Cayabyab, 2015; OVP, n.d.). For the latter, on the other hand, as So (2015)
mentions in a comment, the allegations only targeted the personal aspects of Binay,
not touching on his professional aspects. They also failed to provide concrete
evidence on these allegations.
Besides what has been previously mentioned, there are yet more reasons not
to vote for the other candidates this coming election period. Roxass competency
has already been questioned several times in terms of his ability to keep a level
head during stressful times (Ilda, 2013a, 2013b, 2015) and his general capability of
handling important situations (Cupin, 2015; Vallejera, 2015). Miriam Santiago has
been accused of being emotionally unstable, as well as unparliamentary behavior
owing to her tendency to be aggressive and offensive during arguments, even
frequently using ad hominem arguments (Chua, 2012; Reyes, 2013). In the case of
Grace Poe, inconsistencies in details can still be found regarding her qualifications
to run for president such as her residency and nationality (Geronimo, 2015a, 2015b,
2015c), and many people have targeted her lack of experience in fear that she may
be manipulated by the politicians she surrounds herself with (America, 2015;
pandong, 2015). Binay has proven that he has the competency as he has been
mayor of Makati for 21 years and vice-president of the Philippines, along with other
positions of authority (Cepeda, 2015), and has several projects and award
nominations to show for his ability (Capario, 2009; Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council [HUDCC], n.d.; World Mayor, n.d.). He is also
2

well-prepared for his campaign (Macaraig, 2015a), having been preparing since the
last time he ran for president of the country.
He also has notable plans for the future of the country. He agrees with the
Aquino administrations views on corruption and seeks to continue their anticorruption program. He also commends the administrations economic boom,
however he aims to bring the economic growth down to the level of all the masses,
something which he states was lacking in the Aquino administration. He has a more
lenient view on the countrys current relationship with China and seeks for more
cooperation between the two countries rather than total competition. Regarding the
state of the southern regions of the Philippines, Binay thinks completely opposite
with the current administration. He believes that there are better methods than
what is encompassed by the Bangsamoro Basic Law to resolve conflicts in Mindanao
and wants more time given in order for the law to be a concrete solution to the
crisis (Macaraig, 2015b).

He also has plans to implement tax reforms. They are

meant to collect more taxes from the upper class and more well-off in Philippine
society so that the working class can be able to breathe easier (Hegina, 2015).
As can be seen, Binay has many projects that would greatly benefit the
Philippines. He has the necessary experience to implement this project as well.
Though he is often pegged as being corrupt, other presidential candidates are not
excused from this. Most arguments against Binay do not even target aspects that
affect his professionalism. Out of all the candidates, he has the most pros compared
to his number of cons. Binay is not perfect. He is far from it. But of all the people
qualified for the position of president of our country, he is the best. If at this point
you are still unsure of who to vote for, then I will tell you. You will get the most out
of voting for Binay. Vote for the best this coming election. Vote Binay for president.

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