Ganito kami sa Makati

Jojo Binay struts around the country declaring his Makati City leadership has led to fantastic services for his constituents and would like to replicate it for the rest of the country should the people vote for him as Vice President in the elections this May.

If Jojo is given the office to do what he claims he will do, then Filipinos will also give him the personal money making rackets he has run in his city the past 20 years, this time on a national scale. WOW!

Check this out: just one of the benefits Jojo’s Makati gives to its residents is birthday cakes for senior citizens. The city’s Lolos and Lolas just love it, and so does the Binay household which actually supplies the cakes. So the city government supplies the cakes – simple cakes, the price of which is set by the cake-giving program to the tune of P60 million per year!

Of course, there’s the free mortuary and funeral service, free health care, free education, free… all of which need suppliers for goods and services, purchases, etc etc… you get the picture.

And what about those parking fees and operations of food stalls (known as Jollijeeps) throughout the Central business district?

Well, his allies used to defend him to the death… that is, until he recently got insecure that he would loose the Makati rackets altogether that he suddenly turned his back on his own mates.

You see, Jojo’s term as Mayor is again coming to an end so he’s forced to seek another office, thus his run for VP (he wanted to be President but his major backer, Erap, had other ideas, but that’s another story). He can’t hope for an appointed position like he did years ago when he had himself placed in MMDA… he doesn’t know if the appointive power will be friend or foe. Besides, he has been so mean to the other Metro cities that he will be treated with as much disgust as he has the current MMDA.

The problem is his wife, Dra Elenita, doesn’t want to run as mayor anymore – she’s having such a grand time shopping all over the world with the cake money. And his son, councilor Junjun is still too young and unstable for the country’s premier business district. So he struck a deal with his current vice mayor Ernesto Mercado to run for one term so that he has the position to return to if he loses the VP race or, if he wins, for his son to take over who should be ready and mature enough by that time.

Mercado agreed. But somewhere along the way Binay got insecure that Mercado would not return the position to him after one term, so when the day of filing the certificate of candidacy came, Junjun Binay was suddenly thrust into the Makati mayoral race. Note that this one done despite Mercado’s promise to sign and seal their agreement in a contract… or even in blood.

The Binay turnaround turned off many of Binay’s most trusted captains and lieutenants –   including top city hall functionaries in engineering, business permits etc where the rackets are – that they resigned their posts. Apparently, in his 20 years of office the Jojo has had the habit of feeding his friends to the lions and hiding behind them in times of trouble but turning his back on them when he’s in the clear.

Many of them recall that 2006 event when the slobbering (yes, crying unashamedly) Jojo when he holed himself up at the top floors of his City Hall building, so afraid of PGMA’s chief enforcer Ronnie Puno who was coming to get him to carry out an order from the Ombudsman for his corruption cases. His vice mayor, who obviously stood to benefit from Jojo’s absence, stood by his side. And other Makati officials burned economic and political capital to get Jojo out of his rut… even when they knew he was guilty.

And of course, the biggest bullshit that was pulled that time… he still tried to project that he was the tough Rambotito that he was, even donning a flack jacket during the whole ordeal. Big boys don’t cry, so we all thought.

And today, Jojo still has his swagger, bragging that Noynoy Aquino – the survey leading presidential wannabee – has the DILG post reserved for him in the latter’s Cabinet. Feeling Ronnie Puno?  And he’s going around Makati, campaigning for the yellow candidate. Either he can drop his VP bid in the next few days or he runs, loses, and just waits a year to get appointed.

What happened to being the running mate of Erap? Well, Jojo thinks he can have his cake and eat it too... that is, if he doesn’t go the way of another cake-lover, Marie Antoinette.