Abby Binay thanks sis Nancy for remarking ‘I’m qualified for Senate’
MANILA, Philippines — Although bereft of emotion, Makati Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay thanked her sister, Sen. Nancy Binay, for her kind words about her senatorial bid in 2025.
“Comment? Thank you. What comment do you want?” Abby said in an interview after she formalized her candidacy for the Senate on Friday.
“I mean you have to ask her why am I qualified? Parang ang hirap namang magbuhat ng sariling bangko [I thinks it would be improper to trumpet my own achievements],” she added.
Abby was asked to comment on her sister’s remark on Tuesday that she is very qualified for a seat in the Senate.
Nancy, whose term in the Senate expires next year, is seeking to replace Abby in Makati. She will be running against Abby’s husband, Makati Rep. Luis Campos, who will formalize his mayoral bid on Saturday.
Article continues after this advertisementTalking about her own candidacy, Abby called her senatorial run “nerve-wracking” as she considers herself a private person.
“Hindi ko alam kung mentally I’m ready to run for a position that is national kasi I prefer to be very private but that’s not going to happen,” she said.
(I don’t know if I am mentally prepared to run for a national position, because I [chose] to be very private but that is not going to happen.)
For nine years, Abby served as the representative of Makati in the House of Representatives before she became mayor of the city.
She revealed that in 2015, she was offered by her father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, to run for the Senate but declined it “simply because I valued my privacy.”
“Alam nyo yun, yung live under a microscope tapos may social media, may bullying pa, parang hindi pa ako ready at that time,” Abby said.
(You know, you live under a microscope, then there’s social media and bullying on top of that—it felt like I wasn’t ready for it at that time.)
“So that’s the reason why it took me several years to decide to say na: ‘O sige na nga, (Alright then) let’s run for the Senate,” she added.