Makati City Mayor Abby Binay is seeking a third term as local chief executive of the country’s premiere business district in the 2022 elections.

The scion of the Binay clan filed her certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections’ office in Makati through her representative, lawyer Jason Certeza, on Friday, October 1. 

The 2022 campaign is likely going to be a much easier run for Binay compared to 2019, which saw her slugging it out with her own brother, former mayor Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr., in their family’s bailiwick.

Junjun has yet to announce if he would once again try to challenge the reelection bid of his older sister. Abby defeated him with a convincing lead of some 80,000 votes in the 2019 polls.

The sibling rivalry tore the Binay family apart. Patriarch and former vice president Jejomar Binay was the only member of the family who supported Abby’s reelection bid in the midterm polls. The rest of the clan backed the candidacy of Junjun. 

Despite the sibling rivalry, a Rappler source said, the family patriarch has so far been impressed with the performance of Abby, who has been making changes Jejomar himself was not able to think of. 

Before running for mayor for the first time in 2016, Binay was a three-term congresswoman of Makati’s 2nd District.

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Abigail Binay has been generally praised for managing the pandemic in Makati, though she has been criticized for the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the city.

Under her, Makati has provided free pneumonia and flu vaccines for residents, P5,000 cash aid for every Makatizen and Yellow cardholder, free learning modules and internet load for public school students and teachers, financial aid for business owners in Makati, and pooled swab testing for residents and workers, among others.

In November 2020, Makati City was the sole Philippine finalist in the World Smart Cities Awards held in Barcelona, Spain.

Abigail Binay was recently appointed to the board of mayors and leaders representing Southeast Asia on the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Mayoral Board. – Rappler.com