LAGUNA, Philippines – When Vice President Jejomar Binay accepted an invitation to speak in their school, students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) did not let the opportunity pass.

They threw hard-hitting questions at Binay about informal settlers in Makati, corruption, and why the Vice President criticizes the administration he was long part of.

After the forum, the Vice President said he didn’t mind the supposed roasting he got from students of his alma mater. He said that, unlike in other venues where politicans want to grill him, the atmosphere at the students’ forum remained respectful.

Binay, the standard-bearer of the opposition party United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for 2016, was the guest speaker in an event called “Forum on Governance, Transparency and Social Transformation” on Tuesday, September 15.

His onstage grilling led the Vice President to make some promises should he win the presidency, including the following:

• Supporting agrarian reform
• Ending labor contractualization
• Lessening the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
• Amending the freedom of information (FOI) bill
• Resuming peace talks with revolutionary groups
• Investigating reported human rights violations

Binay also vowed to continue increasing the budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) during his speech on Tuesday.

“Napabalita na tayo sa UP ay bumagsak sa ranking ng 33 points pero tayo pa rin ang number one. Ang Ateneo bumagsak ng 40 points, La Salle 50 points. Kulang na kulang ang suporta sa ating mga state colleges and universities. You can expect continued annual increase in budgets of SUCs,” the Vice President said, earning him applause from the Iskolars ng Bayan.

(It has been reported that UP’s ranking fell by 33 points, but we are still number one. Ateneo’s ranking decreased by 40 points, La Salle by 50 points. The support for state colleges and universities is lacking. You can expected continued annual increase in budgets of SUCs.)

“[Ang] problema [ay] sinasabi na kulang [ang] budget sa UP. Yun pala 1/3 ng budget natin sa PGH (Philippine General Hospital) ginagastos. Palagay ko ang PGH ibigay na lang sa national government ang maintenance pero ipagpapatuloy ang College of Medicine. Ang PGH will be the training hospital. Things like these will be acted upon when I am president.”

(The problem is that UP’s budget is not enough. Apparently, 1/3 of our budget ends up with the PGH’s expenses. I think PGH should leave its maintenance to the government, but I will continue the College of Medicine. PGH will be like a training hospital. Things like these will be acted upon when I am president.)

In a phone interview with Rappler on Wednesday, September 16, UNA spokesperson Mon Ilagan said the increased budget will be used to purchase more classrooms, books, and other instructional materials and equipment. 

Binay also promised during the forum to put up a National Education Council under the Office of the President to institutionalize the linkage among the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the private sector.

Ilagan said the council will be put up “to better harmonize the efforts [of the] K to 12 [program] implementation to address the recurring problem [of the] mismatch between academic output and the needs of the industry.”

Ilagan said Binay would also seek to provide more training opportunities for teachers who will be instructing the K to 12 curriculum to students. (INFOGRAPHIC: 10 things about K to 12)

UPLB students like Jil Danielle Caro are hopeful that Binay would follow through on his promises. (FULL VIDEO: Binay answers questions from UP Los Baños students)

“Sana po hindi niya ‘yun sinabi lang to please us and to gain sympathy from us and to secure votes from us,” said Caro, who is also the editor-in-chief of the university’s student newspaper, the UPLB Perspective. (I hope he didn’t just say these things to please us and to gain sympathy from us and to secure votes from us.)

“Sana po, genuinely ay pinanghahawakan niya ‘yung mga advocacies na ‘yun (I hope he genuinely believes in these advocacies).”

‘Rule of law will prevail’

During the forum, Binay promised to remove the irrigation services fees, which compel farmers to pay the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for the maintenance of government-built irrigation facilities.

The NIA is mulling the abolition of the collection fees as lawmakers and farmers’ groups appeal for its removal to ease the burden on Filipino farmers.

“’Pag ako naging pangulo, aalisin ko ang irrigators’ fee. Sa Pilipinas ka lang nakakita na may irrigation fee. E ‘di nababawasan ang kita,” said Binay.

(If I become president, I will remove the irrigators’ fee. You can only see that in the Philippines. This leads to the decrease of earnings of the farmers.)

When asked by a student if he would end labor contractualization in the country, Binay said: “Talaga naman dapat bigyan ng lunas iyan eh. Six months dapat permanent ka na.”

Ilagan clarified the Vice President’s answer, saying, “Ang punto niya rito [ay] kailangang pag-aralan pa ‘yun para walang violations sa Labor Code (His point here is that the issue still needs to be studied to ensure that there will be no violations of the Labor Code).”

Binay also said that he envisions a future when a lesser number of Filipinos would find the need to work abroad. (READ: The Leader I Want: Jejomar Binay’s to-fix list for 2016)

“Sa panahon ko, ang panalangin ko sana [ay] OFWs will not leave the country because of necessity. Kung aalis man, for professional growth but never for a necessity,” the Vice President said.  

(I pray that in my time, OFWs will not leave the country because of necessity. If they would leave, it should be for professional growth but never for a necessity.)

Binay said he would also seek to amend the FOI bill if he becomes president so there will be more accountability from the media and social media.

“Lahat ng provisions tama, pero ang ibang sectors sa media ay libelous. Sa FOI, walang accountability. Ang social media, maganda ang purpose: para maraming tao makaalam ng balita. Ang problema sa social media, napasukan ng pulitika. Ginagamit sa paninira sa kapwa, pagsisinungaling,” he said.

(All of the bill’s provisions are correct but some sectors in the media are libelous. In FOI, there must be accountability. Social media has a good purpose: so many will know the news. But the problem is that politics got mixed into it. It is being used to destroy others, for lies.)

Several questions for Binay during the forum also centered on what he has done to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front and to end political killings and other human rights violations in the country.

While the Vice President said these were not part of his portfolio when he was still a member of President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet, Binay reiterated that he is a human rights lawyer and he would investigate the reports.

“Sabi ko nga pag ako nahalal, human rights lawyer ako. ‘Di ako papayag na ang rule of law ‘di mananaig (I am a human rights lawyer. If I am elected, the rule of law will prevail.)

‘Roar’ of Filipinos

Still, UPLB students we interviewed expressed their disappointment in the Vice President, who they think failed to give straight answers to their questions. (READ: #BinayBwisitsUPLB: Students take to Twitter to criticize Binay)

Third year agriculture student Lucky Patrick Lopez asked Binay about the Makati informal settlers after the Vice President said not one of them can be found in the city these days. Binay first denied it onstage but later conceded that about 3% to 5% of the Makati population are still informal settlers.

“Sana kung magiging pangulo si Vice President Binay, maging totoo lang siya. Hindi natin matatanggal ang korapsyon sa gobyerno pero sana ‘wag na lang tayong maging impokrito atsaka ‘wag tayo magbulag-bulagan sa mga nangyayari sa ating bayan,” Lopez said.

(I hope that if Vice President Binay becomes president, he will stay true to the facts. We cannot remove corruption in the government, but I hope he will not be a hypocrite and will not play blind to what is happening to our country.)

Caro, meanwhile, hopes Binay will be a true human rights advocate if elected as president.

“Hahanapin ko po sa kanya yung mga sinabi niya ngayon, na siya human rights advocate, na siya po ay naniniwala sa agrarian reform, na siya po ay naniniwala na dapat ay may national industrialization kasi basically po, [some of] the problems of the Philippine society is agriculture and the lack of [a] national industry, kaya po maraming walang trabaho, kaya po maraming nagiging OFWs,” she said.

(I will expect from him what he told us today, that he is a human rights advocate, that he believes in agrarian reform, that he believes that there should be a national industrialization because some of the problems of the Philippine society are on agriculture and the lack of a national industry. This is why many do not have jobs or want to become OFWs.)

UPLB University Student Council vice chairperson Yvann Curtis Zuñiga shared the same sentiments, saying that he expects Binay’s promises to be realized if he wins.

“At kung hindi niya po maachieve lahat ‘yun as he promised to UPLB students right here, then get ready, because he will hear the roar of the Filipino people. At sa karanasan po ng bansa natin, kayang-kaya nating magpatalsik ng presidente,” said Zuñiga.

(And if he will not achieve all these promises he made before the UPLB students, then get ready, because he will hear the roar of the Filipino people. And based from experience, we have the power to oust a president.) – Rappler.com