Did VP Jejomar Binay Just Lose All His Credibility?

binay lalaban ako2So the debate between Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay and Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV won’t push through, eh?

Not that I think that the Filipino masses really care about a proper debate and would actually make a VERY early decision on who to vote for as President in 2016 based on how such a debate would pan out.

First, I think most Filipinos actually don’t know what a real formal debate is and it didn’t help that for years a popular Philippine “debate” TV show gave people the wrong notion of what a debate really is.  And, NOPE, sorry to say this but I doubt you can call flooding and hijacking threads of Facebook posts a debate either. Thing is, what most people would call a debate is really just people arguing and it would be great if they stuck to disciplined reasoning as well as rules of civility, but most people don’t. AND NOOOOO, for crying out loud, a debate isn’t about people taking turns talking fast on television either. Not even the self-proclaimed ‘geniuses’ and ‘soldiers’ who once shouted “Tulta munille!” have been seen to engage in a real and proper debate online.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY!
Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us.
Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider!
Learn more

Second, I think more Filipinos tend to vote for the candidate that they like and remember, more than anything else. And the reason why they like one candidate or another isn’t based on facts about that person or his/her politics, but more likely a misconception of who that person is and what their politics are. For a bunch of people who blame the President of their country for a whole slew of things, I think they tend to make decisions on who to vote for in the very same way that they decide on which brand of soap to use — they just look at the picture and read the product’s packaging claims.

In my view, the Binay-Trillanes debate is largely misunderstood. It’s not a debate in the formal sense or any sort of contest that will result in someone winning and someone losing. At least to me, what may be closer to the truth is that what we have been seeing over the past few days is actually just the hustle of main players laying down the groundwork for the monumental DEAL MAKING that’ll happen with the coming of the 2016 Presidential Election Piñata.

At this point, I’ll wager that some sort of deal has already been struck and the on going circus at the senate will draw its curtain. I have no idea what the details of that deal is, but it will certainly involve all the players coming away from the whole thing with their fortunes largely intact.

Ever wonder why any of the public contests between politicians never result in any kind of closure? (And while we are at it, let’s also ask, why did Philippine Independence have to be legislated by the US?)

If we looked at the whole thing as a round of deal making, all the corruption allegations hurled against Binay at the senate may just be a round of brinksmanship —  this is the practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome.

The question is, for whose advantage?

In figuring this out, you have to consider King Noynoy Aquino may be open to suit because of the Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP and of course, there’s also Hacienda Luisita to think about. Having what we can merely assume as incipient corruption cases hanging over Binay’s head could be an effective tool to dissuade him from acting in anyway against King Noynoy’s interests.

As for the supposed other contender for President in 2016, Secretary of Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas, the only advantage brinksmanship would hold for him is if things go so bad for Binay that he decides not to run.  But as it is, things don’t seem bad enough and conversations with a couple of political players seem to indicate that they’re still supporting Binay — at least for now.

And as for credibility?

There’s a rather apt quotation that bears posting here, and that is… “If you don’t know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”

The bulk of Filipino voters can’t see a future beyond their next meal or next pay check (if they’re lucky enough to have a job), how can we expect them to have any idea of what direction the country should take in the next six years?

Binay’s credibility would matter ONLY if the voting population actually had an idea of WHAT DIRECTION the next President should take.

58 Replies to “Did VP Jejomar Binay Just Lose All His Credibility?”

  1. A good read Sir, thank you.

    “The bulk of Filipino voters can’t see a future beyond their next meal or next pay check (if they’re lucky enough to have a job), how can we expect them to have any idea of what direction the country should take in the next six years?”
    -*The Painful Truth.

    1. What’s your basis, yourself and your friends? Where is your proof? If you claim this, make sure you got the most recent stat to back it up rather to dispense propaganda or use outdated statistics.

  2. There is always a deal made. Everybody on top are crooks. Crooks protect crooks.If the incumbent government really believed Binay was evil what happened in 2014 caused that Eureka moment? Government is there to protect their own and government composed of crooks. Its a win – win scenario for them and a lose- lose for us.

    1. Tama po iyon. Noong namuno si Erap ay dinugasan ang kaban ng bayan ng bilyon-bilyong pera. Kaya lubos ang aming panalangin sa PANGINOON na huwag naman ipahintulot ang papalit kay Noynoy ay si Jejomar Binay na isang pusakal na magnanakaw ng Makati. Kung anong itim ng kulay ay siyang kulay din ng kanyang kaluluwa.Isang demonyo. Kaya, manalangin tayo, “Huwag naman si Jejomar Binay.. iba na lang.

      OFW / Architecs & Engineers Society
      Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

  3. I will practise my right to absentee voting to vote BInay as president in 2016 lol. Foreign exchange would then be expected to soar through the roof after that, and by that time, I’ve already took my oath of renunciation trololol

  4. Last paragraph is well said — just perfect. In the current brinkmanship, Binay is winning; the surveys confirm this. Binay does not care about his credibility, he is catering to the economic classes C, D and E, the mass of people that decides who becomes the president. We cannot even attempt how CDE defines credibility for they define anything universal based on particulars they may be individually in. It has nothing to do with what is good for the nation, and that is why they have elected time and time again bungling fools as leaders.

    Binay still has to be careful, however. He is already insulting the intelligence of A, B and C, who may not have the number to decide elections, but who have the clout to bring down a government. During the two successful “people power”, it was ABC that whipped up hysteria and that daily delivered the trucks of food and drinks that made CDE participate in mass actions where not all were even clear as to the whys of the actions. If Binay wins and at the rate he is going, he may find himself going the way Erap went, and that is not difficult to see.

    Even before Erap became president, the Makati Business Club did not like him at all. Here, it is worth noting that the relationship of Binay with MBC and other trade associations in Makati has also never been cordial. The reason has been the persistent rumors that Binay is corrupt long before the present Blue Ribbon hearings. If you work in Makati, you would have to be a person oblivious to anything if you have not heard these rumors. As of now, we have no clear idea as to how the ABC crowd is reacting to the hearings, but if there is any indication that Binay may be alienating said segment, we only have to note that CBCP made the unusual move of inviting him to a private meeting — and we are now gathering from leaks that meeting has not been good for Binay. The bishops have become skeptical, as one priest who was in the meeting said: “This Binay will not do anything good for the nation; his explanations all sounded superficial — unconvincing alibis. I can’t trust him.” Binay may win the presidency, but lose in the end.

    1. I think the so called A,B and C are not Intelligent either coz if they are we dont’t have a kind of President we have now. Anomalies after anomalies, corruption after corruption occurred from day of his Presidency and these so called A,B and C of the population turning a blind eye of what is happening and accusing the Masa as Bobotantes. Either they are Hypocrites or benefiting from this most Corrupt President.

      1. ..Well, I think we PNoys are all experts in people power and know the parameters that trigger one: (1) The presence of an issue that is understandable by society across the board, and the opposing opinions to the issue are practically clear cut; (2) an exasperated feeling among the populace, or an almost palpable environment where you know something is stirring up with each passing day; (3) the elite, though staying in the background, organizes a core group and via the media and other PR means further stokes the public sentiment; (4) a trigger that ignites an already combustible situation, as the coup attempt by Ramos and Enrile in EDSA1 and the boogie dance (hehehe) by Tessie Oreta in EDSA2; (5) the middle class and some of society’s elite openly participate in the resulting mass action.

        I think there were two mass actions in the beginning of Gloria’s term; these failed because of the absence of parameter(5). Trillanes’ two attempts also failed because parameters(2), (3) and (5) were not in the mix. When Cory went to Assumption College in an attempt to topple Gloria, Cory had (1), (3) and (5), but not (2) and (4), so it ended “hilaw” Recall that Gloria was installed by EDSA2 with high expectations, but she turned out to be a snake in the grass. In a way, she neutralized any people power by being so corrupt. After her, people will always have second thoughts about people power as it might install a more corrupt one than the previous. I think they coined a term for this: people power fatigue.

        I will surmise that people power fatigue lingers in PNoy’s term. Yes, he was installed through an election, but that election was unusual in the sense that it was overshadowed by the emotional bandwagon triggered by Cory’s death. So like Gloria, BS Aquino in a way was installed with high expectations by people power and turned out to be a big disappointment — though, not necessarily a snake in the grass, but more like a comedian who makes nobody laugh; certainly a rich brat who thinks everyone else is a brat like him. (Heard from the grapevine that during cabinet meetings, presenters often repeat their presentations because PNoy really doesn’t get anything on first explanation. “He sits there intently listening and you would have thought he got it, but no, everything went over his head. In some cases, he would make a comment that is so irrelevant that you wonder whether you are in the same page, the same room, or what.” I was laughing and laughing when I heard that — but gosh, how did he become a president. “He likes very graphic presentations, though, especially those which are almost cartoonish.” I thought why not just give him a comic book. Well, didn’t Osmena tell us PNoy is hardheaded?)

        If Binay gets elected, he would not have been installed by people power, i.e. people power as we have defined it here. His election would be similar to Erap’s election. Thus, we could already discount people power fatigue in his term. Similar to Erap, Binay does not have good relationship with MBC. That means ingredients (3) and (5) are already in the cooking mix, though still in low boil, even before he takes office. That also means that business people will be looking at him with critical eyes. And if he is indeed corrupt, it would not take long before all the other ingredients come into the dynamics of PHL politics.

        The unknown quantity here, however, is the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity, of which Binay is a member. It is a very cohesive group as my cousin who is an APO tells me that they will be supportive of Binay “whether he goes to jail or the Palace”. It is not the usual political network so it is very easy to underestimate it. But, they have the depth and the reach that could make any political machinery look like a mom and pop operation. There is an APO in almost every school from Aparri to Jolo and an APO in every level of the PHL society. They are formidable; when they saw that Binay was still lagging behind surveys with two weeks to go in the campaign, they mobilized everyone accepting no excuse from members. During the counting of votes, they were very visible. Maybe, this is the reason why Binay is arrogantly confident to a point he does not care about making mistakes. He seems careless, why?

        1. People power to outs Binay when he get elected ???? Nahhh!!!! After everything that happened after two EDSAs, whi stullbelieves in the peopel power??? It did not oust Gloria, It did not oust Corona after sevral attempts and it willnoyt outs Binay if he gets elected. The ABC crowd is smarter now…

          On possible senario woudl be to oust Binay through Impeachment. But this also remote..Because you can only do impeachemnt if the crimes were committed during the tenure as president. After Binay has been going through, the past months, he woudl be stupid to make that (overpricing ) mistake again.

    2. I agree. While Binay may fulfill his dream of becoming the president by exploiting the idiotic majority, it would be LIVING HELL for him, and the Filipino people. That may well be his and his clan’s ultimate KARMA. Money is not everything.

      1. Living HELL for him and the Filipino people? Where have you been all these years. Isn’t the Philippines in hell already. Binay is not there yet? Karma? What happened to the Marcoses? They are still in power isn’t?

    3. Binay isn’t the one whose playing Brinksmanship or at least not yet.

      And yes, he does need to be careful. So far, he has been successful in playing the meek servant leader that his minions at GK know he isn’t. He shouldn’t unravel from all the stress and go ballistic at this point.

  5. Noynoy has made great progress for the country. We are at critical point in our history where we cannot afford to waste any more time and resources. That is why we should amend the constitution and allow Noynoy to run again for President as it is in our best interest to allow him to build upon his great achievements.

    Furthermore, Noynoy is the only Asian leader who can stand up to Chinese and Russian aggression. He has what it takes to keep these bullies in check. Noynoy will harness the power of the Filipino spirit and show the world that our time has come to be recognized as a global power.

    1. What great achievements? He has pissed away the budget on half measures that have done nothing to stop the downward trajectory of this country. We have been going backwards. Infrastructure cannot keep up with population increases.

    2. Please don’t confuse “stand up” with “bend over”. Figuratively speaking of course. Not that there is anything wrong with that if Noynoy was one. The guy has never stood up to Mar, Drilon or Trillanes what more Super Powers in our region? Hell the guy has NEVER stood up to Kris or even Josh for that matter. You sure have nice taste in pansies.

        1. That picture doesn’t justify anything since the fact remains that there is a RETARD next to the like of Putin and Xi.

          gr8 b8 m8

      1. Yeah right putin and xi so what? FYI the former already smothered Ukraine. Magkano na naman ang binayad sa iyo vincensus ignoramus?

        1. If Ukraine had a leader like Noynoy, they would not have been smothered.

          That is why the Philippines will never be smothered by China and Russia. Putin and Xi know this and that is why they are trying to make friends with Noynoy.

          Anyone with a brain knows that it would foolish to wage war on Filipinos led by Noynoy.

        2. “Anyone with a brain knows that it would foolish to wage war on Filipinos led by Noynoy.”

          Congrats, you just went FULL RETARD with what you wrote. Fact. 😛

        3. So basically, what you’re saying is that we should be afraid of a 53 year old slacker and his army of retarded zombies like you?

          The suicidal overconfidence is strong in this one

        4. Besides, what makes you think all of the people in the country still believe in your false god noynoy even though he has been proven to be a total fraud?

    3. BWAH HA H AH AH AHA , AH-HEM, BWAH AH HA HA HA HA HA HA…..

      CAN I HAVE SOME OF WHAT YOU ARE SMOKING??? BWAH HA HA HA HA HAHA, AHAHAHAHAH !!!!!

      The Philippines is a ‘GLOBAL POWER’, BWAH HA HA H AHA HA HA HA HA HA…OMG, YOU ARE TOO FUNNY !!!! HA HA HA HAHA !!!!

    4. Exactly correct ! nanalangin po kami mga OFW na huwag sana ipahintulot ng PANGINOON na ang papalit kay Noynoy ay isang pusakal na MAGNANAKAW ng Makati na si Jijomar Binay tulad ni Erap na isang pusakal na mandurugas ng kaban ng bayan. Ginagamit ang mga mahihirap para magpayaman mula sa nakaw sa kaban ng bayan.

      Oh PANGINOON huwag po ninyo hayaan hawakan ang bansang Pinas. Ngayon palang di ninirespito ang senado ano paya kung mag presidente ang isang baluga na ito. Nakaw dito , nakaw doon at magpayaman sa sarili.

      Architecs & Engineers Society / OFW’S
      Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    1. I think some bloggers have ingested good amounts of “Shabu”…they are now in “Cloud Yellow”…Delusion to the worse degree…seeing things as progress amidst the poverty/squatters houses nearby?

  6. @ GRP, SO WHEN DID THE SCUMBAG BINAY EVER HAVE ANY CREDIBILTY ? PLEASE, enlighten me ?as far as anyone can see the guy has had ZERO credibility for as log as anyone can remember.
    SO, what is up with that?

    1. @Gerry

      Perhaps you should ask those who think he has the credibility to be voted VP that question. Other members of his family now also hold gov’t positions.

        1. @Sacre-Bleu
          Nope, I never tried to answer it, but I simply want to raise the point that he was voted into office, so Pinoy voters think he was indeed credible enough to become VP, and even had members of his family voted into high gov’t positions as well. Thus, if he isn’t credible, and never was, and yet a large segment of the voting Pinoy population voted him into office, what does that say about said population?

          The yellow brigade has even misapplied the term “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” to make it sound as if these politicians, especially BS Aquino, were elected due to God’s voice speaking through the Pinoy voting masses.

          You cannot question an elected politician’s credibility without questioning the wisdom or lack thereof of people who voted each of them into office.

          Hope that was clear enough.

      1. The people pardon them by electing crooks. All of them steal. And who cares, money talks during election. Filipino voters are “bakya” , no taste and short memory.

  7. I have never seen a Filipino Politician with Credibility. They are all liars.

    We were bought by the U.S. from Spain; when Spain ceded its colonies thru the Treaty of Paris. So, we were part of the U.S. U.S. laws like the Tydings-McDuffie Law , had to pass in the U.S. Congress and Senate; to grant Independence to the Philippines. With a price: the Laurel-Langley Agreement…

    The Debate is important; to feel what the Candidates are thinking…or , if they are Boneheads or have little brains in their heads…

    What we have now, are Outside Appearances. They just wave, have a few prepared speech, and a little “pa-charming”, to get your vote…

    1. Hyden,

      I understand your frustration finding good Filipino politicians. But let me name few…

      1. Ninoy Aquino
      2. Noynoy Aquino
      3. Manny Pacquiao
      4. MLQ
      5. MLQ3

  8. First off,the little monkey puss has no credibility.It is impossible for the little monkey puss to lose what he does not have and so the supposition asked in the title of this article is a moot point, a non-issue.

  9. Frankly, I’m a bit lost on the main idea of the article.

    It started about the alleged aborted debate between Binay and Trillanes. And then it jumped on the masses for not knowing what a real debate is and for not knowing how to vote. And somewhere along the way a ‘deal making’ or a deal was mentioned. However, the writer admitted he has no idea what the deal is all about. Whew! Finally, it shifted on credibility issue. Ending with a paragraph that talks about Binay’s credibility mattering depending the the voters’ knowledge of the country’s direction.

    I’m sorry, I feel like riding in a chubibo reading the article. I apologize to the writer for saying that. I mean it. 🙁

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.