By Jel Santos With more than 50 percent of the total votes tallied in her favor, Abigail “Abby” Binay remains the mayor of the country’s financial capital – Makati City. She defeated her brother, Junjun Binay, who garnered only 98, 653 votes or 30 percent of the total votes casted. Reelectionist Makati Mayor Abby Binay casts her vote at San Jose Elementary School in Guadalupe Nuevo (Rio Leonelle Deluvio / MANILA BULLETIN) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Makati said Abigail got 179, 522 votes from the 503 clustered precincts in the city. Her running mate incumbent Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo won against Makati Rep. Monsour del Rosario in the vice mayoral race. She got 182, 655 votes while the incumbent first district congressman attained 105, 153. For the congressional race in the 2nd district of Makati, incumbent Rep. Luis Campos beat Councilor King Yabut by 27,491 votes. The mayor’s husband garnered 90, 736 votes while the city councilor got 63, 245 votes. Former vice president Jejomar Binay lost to Romulo “Kid” Pena Jr in the battle for the congressional seat in the first district. Pena prevailed with 71, 035 votes over the Binay patriarch by 5, 806 votes. Pena, who served as an acting mayor of Makati, said that he expected the turnout saying that he was able to reach out to the “masa”, and Class A and Class B of Makati City. “I was expecting to win. I was expecting that I will lead by a large margin, because I was able to capture the ‘masa,’ the Class A, B of Makati,” he said before his proclamation as winner early Tuesday morning. When asked for his message to his closest opponent, he said: “Sir, thank you for the break that you have given me in the past. I hope you understand that this is nothing personal. I have nothing but respect for you.” Jejomar's candidacy was backed by Junjun's Team Be Nice, and Abigail's Team Performance. His congressional bid was also endorsed by the Iglesia ni Cristo, a religious group known to practice bloc voting. Before Pena was proclaimed as winner, the camp of the former vice president asked the canvassers to defer proclaiming him as winner of the 1st district congressional race. Lawyer Jose Julius Castro, legal counsel of UNA political party of the ex-vice president, cited null votes reported in District 1 which was double than the purported lead of Pena; the disenfranchisement because of orchestrated acts stemming from a Barangay San Isidro incident; and the reported simultaneous power interruptions in asking to defer Pena’s proclamation. However, Comelec Makati headed by Lawyer Jayvee Villagracia declined the request of Binay’s camp telling them to file a motion before the Comelec en banc. The proclamation of Pena pushed through. “It is not the role of canvassers to answer the motion. They should file a formal complaint before the Comelec en banc,” he explained. Abigail and Luis did not show up at the Makati Coliseum for their proclamation. On election day, 320, 827 Makati residents went out and practiced their right to suffrage, posting over 70 percent voter turnout. Comelec Makati said there are 452, 424 registered voters in the city. Abigail’s mayoral bid was backed by her father, while Junjun was endorsed by their mother, former mayor Elenita Binay, and elder sister Sen. Nancy Binay. In 2007, she was elected as representative of Makati’s second district in Congress. Abigail won against Romulo “Kid” Pena in the 2016 elections. She is the fourth Binay family member to become mayor of the country’s financial district. Her mother, Elenita, was the first to become mayor in their family, serving from 1998 to 2001. #MatalinongBoto2019