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Vice President Jejomar Binay is making it clear that he feels like he is being subjected to “racist” attacks.
During the third anniversary celebration of the Ibanag Heritage Foundation Inc.’s and National Heritage Month celebration at the Coconut Palace in Pasay City last Wednesday, May 7, Binay said that the taunts against his and his family’s dark skin color “prove the prevailing racism among a number of Filipinos.”
“Binay — who has been the subject of jokes on social media because of his skin color — whose late mother Lourdes Gatan Cabauatan hails from Isabela, bared that as a father, he was hurt when his daughter, Sen. Nancy Binay, was ridiculed for her dark skin color during the 2013 senatorial elections,” reports JC Bello Ruiz in Tempo.
In his speech, Binay said, “Bilang isang ama, nasaktan ako sa mga paninirang iyon. Kaya naman ipinagmamalaki ko na hindi na pinatulan ni Nancy ang mga batikos na ito. Dahil tulad ko, ipinagmamalaki rin ni Nancy ang kulay niya – ang kulay ng Ibanag (As a father, I was hurt by those attacks. That’s why I am so proud that Nancy didn’t make a fuss about it. Just like me, Nancy is proud of her color — the color of the Ibanag people).”
Binay went on to say that as the 2016 presidential election approaches, these jokes about his color are once again making the rounds. He pointed out that his critics like calling him “Nognog,” a derisive Filipino term for dark-skinned people.
However, Binay added, “But I don’t pay them any mind for there is nothing wrong with being dark skinned. I see my color — our color — as a badge of pride. But my own pride in my skin color does not lessen the racism of those who hate my color. I just don’t hate back at them.”
Photo: Commission on Elections
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