Binay: I Have Made Makati Rich

In a speech delivered by Vice President Jejomar Binay to the people of Sultan Kudarat last August 18, 2015 in the municipal’s gymnasium, he stated that he is the one to be credited for Makati’s financial prosperity. Per Binay, Makati, the central business district of the Philippines merely had P243 million when he assumed office as the appointed mayor on 1986. He claimed that his 21 years as mayor resulted in the exponential increase of the city’s income so much so that Barangay Bel-Air alone has an annual income share of P50 million. He continued to harp on figures saying that Makati grew its income by 50 times reaching P11 billion by the end of 2010.

A crowd of 2,000 witnessed him declare that he has made Makati rich and he promises to do the same to the rest of the Philippines. Binay swore-in his local allies as members of the United Nationalists Alliance (UNA) led by former Maguindanao vice governor Midpantao Midtimbang and his brother Hadji Ali Midtimbang, former mayor of Talayan. Mayor Mohammad Paglas of Datu Paglas and Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. of Cotabato City who was represented by his sister lawyer Cynthia Guiani Sayadi were also sworn-in as members of UNA.
VP Binay was accompanied by supposed UNA senatorial candidates, Leyte representative Martin Romualdez, actress Alma Moreno, and Princess Jacel Kiram of Sulu. He further insisted on his competencies to be the president of the Philippines by insinuating that he has already done what other aspirants are promising to do—a jab against Secretary Mar Roxas whose battle cry is to fight corruption and end poverty in the country. He continued to prod on Senator Grace Poe, another rumored candidate who has been leading the Presidential polls. According to Binay, it takes seniority and experience to be fit to assume a higher office as demonstrated by teachers who work for many years to become school principals—an obvious reference to Poe’s lack of such.

What do you think of Binay’s words? Did he indeed made Makati rich?