An Open Letter to Senator Nancy Binay



Senator Nancy Binay

Professional / Political Experience:
Personal Assistant to Makati Mayor Elenita Binay (1998-2001)
Personal Assistant to Vice Pres. Jojo Binay (2010-present)

College Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Tourism, University of the Philippines-Diliman (1997)

Affiliations/Professional Background:
Personal assistant, Former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay, Vice President Jejomar Binay (1998 to present)
Board of Trustees, Brighthalls Children’s Foundation (present)
Executive Director and Board of Trustees, Bigay Pagmamahal Foundation (present)
Trustees, STF Serbisyong Tunay Foundation, Inc. (present)
Board of Trustees, JCB Foundation (present)

Political Dynasty: 
Vice President Jejomar Binay, father, Makati Mayor (1986-1998 and 2001-2010)
Makati Mayor(1998-2001) Elenita Binay
Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., brother
Makati 2nd District Rep Mar-Len Abigail Binay-Campos, sister


Dearest Senator Binay,

By the time this letter is done, you would have probably become elected Senator of my beloved country. I will not say that you were elected because the majority of our electorate are illiterates who cast their ballots simply on name recognition. I will assume the best in that they see in you, someone who can do her best in the legislative body of our land.

I would like to review with you though what you said was your greatest qualification to hold public office: that you had 20 years on-the-job training with your parents. I will not question how important this may have been, but I question whether it is truly enough.

As a physician born into a family of physicians, I too had over 20 years on-the-job training before I entered medical school. I requested for a medical toy set early in my years to learn to examine inanimate objects in the house masquerading as human replicas. In my elementary years, I would sit in my mother’s clinic, writing prescriptions for her many patients. In my high school years, my grandmother became frail, requiring my parents to provide more medical care to which I was witness to. By the time I applied for medical school, I had probably seen more patients than some fourth year medical students in their lifetime.

I always had a question whether I should pursue my dream in a school where my parents were better known as it was a double-edged sword. If you did well, they would say your parents and your name helped you out. If you did poorly, they would ask how it was possible that you could be so stupid when you had brilliant parents. So believe me when I say, I can understand your predicament.

Our pathways diverge however, as I had to apply for my position. You might say that being elected is also a form of application but I had to defend myself. My interviewer for my application asked me this question, which still rings in my ears today, even after twenty-two years: “Do you think that you deserve to be admitted to this medical school just because of your family name?” I could have taken offense but I understood where this was coming from. There were numerous applicants for such limited slots, some probably definitely more deserving but my name was calling out to feel more deserved. If you removed your surname, would you still feel you have enough qualifications for the office you applied for? I rattled off my achievements, never once quoting my association with my surname. I felt I deserved it. What we truly feel however, will be left to us and our conscience.

I was accepted into medical school and I went through classroom activities, where I was held responsible by my professors. I went through clerkship and internship where I was held responsible by my residents and mentors. I went though residency where I was held responsible by my attendings and my hospital. Someone held me to my actions at every point in my desire to be a doctor. I know you have held a position as a personal assistant to your parents. Unfortunately, I do not know how much our parents will hold us responsible for our actions. To my mother, I was the most intelligent and handsome son anyone could have. My superiors and mentors made me realize that I was not. I am sure that to your parents, you are the most able and beautiful daughter anyone could have. That is how parents should treat us, but that is not the way a boss or superior would.

I have been a physician now for nineteen years. I am always held responsible by my patients. I have been held responsible, by someone else aside from my family for over twenty-two years. I have been responsible for the lives of a few thousands of our countrymen. Your OJT is actually Opening Just Today. You will be held responsible for the lives of almost a hundred million Filipinos. They will not be as kind as your parents, as I am sure you have had a taste of. You have said that this was a calling. I hope you have prepared well for it as I certainly prepared for mine.

You might say that your voice in the Senate is only one of twenty-four. If that voice remains silent in crucial moments, it may spell the difference for our country. If that voice cannot defend the legislation it aims to pass, you might as well leave the lawmaking to someone else. If that voice will only serve as the speaker from which emanates the voice of another, then the voice at the microphone should have been the one to get the electorate’s votes.

I did not vote for you as I believed and I believe you do not deserve my vote. But the beauty of democracy is that I should learn to abide by the voice of the majority, no matter how uninformed I feel it may be. My choices have not always won elections. If they do, I pray that their path follows the way my conscience and my mind convinced me to vote for them. When people like you win, I only have one prayer: to be proven wrong.

Mine is a voice that you may never hear but I have never stifled it with the fear of creating waves in the calm waters. The ripples I make will hopefully make you gather your oars and work your way back to shore. You are not perfect and neither am I. I sincerely hope though that you work towards it and I will happily see how much more imperfect I am.

A citizen of the republic.

Patrick Moral, MD


Filipino people were unkind to Nancy during the election period, calling her "dark skin" and all kinds of "bullying" just because she has no prior history in public service and aimed for a Senatorial position right away. This is not new to us anymore, celebrities like Joseph Sstrada, Tito Sotto, Lito Lapid, Ramon Revilla Sr/Jr, Joey Marquez, Alma Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, Lani Mercado, Anjo Yllana. and more, are all over the politics who knows nothing, they did not even finished college education nor had an OJT training. Come to think of it, between the showbiz people and Nancy, who do you think are the worst candidates we ever had?  


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20 comments

  1. BIMPO. Batang Isinubo ng Magulang sa Politika. She's a perfect example of what a BIMPO is. Thanks to her Dad's popularity, we now have 2 Binays in the national positions.

    Ang bitter nung letter. haha, Oo nga naman. Unfair naman kasi talaga para sa iba yun. Yung ibang mga nagaapply di makapasok pasok dahil walang backer sa company, tapos si Nanay Nancy nakapasok ng paganun ganon lang. Pero di naman nya kasalanan to ng buo, may kasalanan din ang mga botante. Pero di pa natin pwedeng sabihin na sya yung worst, malay natin may ibubuga naman talaga sya.

  2. This is just nice. A letter with genuine words and a writer with sincere thoughts.

  3. I have read this letter yesterday. Although it's lengthy, I still finished it to the bottom and I can relate to the writer. However, I think that it's much better if we judge Nancy Binay when she's already in the position.

  4. I think we have had enough of a Lito Lapid in the Senate. Here's wishing na wala ng kagaya niya sa senado period!

  5. If you look at the requirement/s of ANYONE who wishes to be an ELECTED official of the land, it ia very limited and NAncy satisfied all those criteria. Unless the rule is changed, there will be more and more NAncy's who will try their luck! Sorry na lang sa natalo! Meron ngang naging Presidente tayo, WALA talagang alam!

  6. I did not vote for her because I don't want to take nay risk. But since she is winning in this election, I just do hope her father and other family members will be at her side to aide her on what to do.

  7. I did not vote for her either

  8. I am not pro or against nancy, but she is qualified to apply for that position. If we based only what we seen on tv progam Q & A, well not enough to judge the man's capability. remember,, not all good debators are good emplementors...

  9. How true, Doc Patrick! Being "OJT" to a position does not immediately make you qualified for the job if the OJT is not directly doing the job. There is a difference between the OJT where you sit around while watching your dad do something and the OJT of actually doing that something!

  10. I love this letter, read it yesterday and shared it a couple of times too. Nancy Binay, on the other hand, will have a hard time getting some love from a lot of people. This woman doesn't even know what a senator's job is (if you've seen her ads, you'll know what I mean). But, well, can't do anything now, can we...

  11. I saw the letter in FB and it's right on the money. I also like your insight at the end. Well said. I often rack my brains on how we can reverse this trend. I think it has to deal with educating the masses (both intellectually and spiritually).

    Well, we can't control what happens in the senate, but we can always control what WE, the citizenry, do in our own circles. Let's focus on that.

  12. She should not be judge right away, since the people choose her let us give her a chance to show her potential.

  13. Obviously not the thinking people....

  14. People have spoken yes.....but not the thinking people....

  15. I did not vote for her because I believe there are others who are more deserving. Thats all. Not because of her dark skin.

  16. OMG! maybe they got paid under the table or had been given with free food! nyahahaa

  17. Both the vilification and her victory speaks a lot about the culture that we have today. First of all, the hurl of insults against her because of her dark skin tells me that majority of us are still racist. Her victory on the other hand, tells me that Filipino voters still love trapos and polical dynasties. You can't deny that.

    I have lots of feelings about her which I wrote in my blog post entitled "Nancy Binay and the Idiosyncratic Filipino Culture." http://wp.me/p3xMys-o

  18. I think that it would be good to wait till she's in the seat and see what she can do for the people before we jump into any conclusion.

  19. mga botante kasi binibili ang boto kaya sino man ang nanalo siya ang mayron pera deba....

  20. Politics in the Philippines is disgusting! Many of them become celebrities first before going to Politics. Just because they are famous they take advantage so that they could fill their pockets later on. Most of them are not even educationally qualified to take post. What a joke! Squandering public money like staying in posh hotels with public money for their personal activities. What a joke!

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