Senator Nancy Binay filed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) as mayor of Makati City for 2025 on Tuesday with running mate, actor-politician Monsour del Rosario, under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party.
Binay was among the first politicians to submit their COCs before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) at the Manila Hotel tent. She is running against her brother-in-law, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos, the husband of her younger sister Mayor Abigail Binay-Campos.
Speaking to reporters, Binay acknowledged feeling ‘sad’ about them sitting on the opposite sides of the political fence. She, however, underscored that they remain as family members first and foremost.
“There was no space for us to talk. So, it’s sad, because we’re a family. But we remain as a family above all… To me, I am not running against my sister. There is no ‘Abby Binay’ in the ballot. We are not enemies,” Binay said, trying to hold back tears.
In a Facebook post, Binay said her candidacy has the blessing of their father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, who personally checked her COC the night before submission. “Thank you, Dad, for the trust that I can continue the good service you started in Makati,” she wrote.
The Binay patriarch served as mayor of Makati City for much of his political career. He is also one of the founding fathers and incumbent president of the UNA political party with Nancy as the chairperson.
Mayor Abby is running for senator in next year’s polls under the Nationalist People’s Coalition. She was recently introduced among the 12 senatorial candidates of the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ alliance endorsed by President Marcos.
In a television interview, Mayor Abby said she was hoping and praying that her sister would not seek the mayoral post, but respects her prerogative to pursue her political plans. “It will be unfortunate but, you know, I can’t convince her. I can’t stop her from running for whatever position,” she said.
Mayor Abby acknowledged that this inevitable scenario would add to the “political drama,” similar to what happened in 2019, when she ran against their brother Junjun Binay.
“Politics is already ugly as it is and we do have our personal differences as well. So, the mudslinging [from] the 2019 elections was very, very traumatic on my end. And, I guess, it’s just not nice when things get ugly and sometimes you can’t… It can’t be avoided,” she told OneNews.
