Binay welcomes Lapid’s mayoralty bid

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay welcomed yesterday Sen. Lito Lapid’s plan to run for mayor in the city in the coming May 2007 elections.

Binay said he will not back off from anyone even if they are supported by the First Family.

"They can use their power, influence and money. In the end, the people of Makati will be the ones to decide," he said.

The mayor also took issue with Lapid’s claim that he was running to put a stop to the disruptive rallies in the Central Business District.

"It is rather naive to run on a platform of disrespect for the Constitution," he said, stressing that the freedoms of speech and assembly are mandated by the Constitution.

Binay pointed out that during his tenure, he had protected those rights in a fair manner.

The Makati mayor added that the people of Makati judge their candidates on the basis of performance.

"It’s not about popularity. Anyone who has run a local campaign should know this," he said.

Meanwhile, politicians from Pampanga, where the senator once served as governor, said they would fully support their provincemate in his decision to run as chief executive of Makati.

Sources from the Pampanga Mayors’ League said Lapid has disclosed to some of them his political plans. 

Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin was among those who confirmed Lapid’s plans.

"He told me about it. His shifting to Makati would be a big loss for Kapampangans, but we must help him in his plans," Lazatin told The Star.

The senator recently went to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare his new residence in Magallanes Village in the city.

He was earlier reported to have declared residence at Sunset Valley in Angeles City, where he initially had planned to run for mayor, although he also has a mansion in his birth place in neighboring Porac town.

Lapid had been a three-term governor of Pampanga before he ran for the Senate in 2004 when his son Mark ran for governor of Pampanga. Both father and son won under the administration’s Lakas party. – With Ding Cervantes