# Abigail Binay

Mar-len Abigail "Abby" Sombillo Binay-Campos (born December 12, 1975) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who has been the Mayor of Makati since 2016. She formerly served in the Congress as Representative of Makati's 2nd District from 2007 to 2016, when she was succeeded by her husband, Luis Campos. She is also the daughter of former Vice President Jejomar Binay.

## Early life and education

Binay was born on December 12, 1975 in Quezon City, as the second of five children and the second of four daughters of lawyer Jejomar Binay and Dr. Elenita Sombillo. She is the younger sister of Nancy Binay, a current Senator, and the older sister of Junjun Binay, the former mayor of Makati.
She studied at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and received her bachelor's degree in human ecology, majoring in human settlements planning. She continued to the Ateneo de Manila Law School, earning her law degree in 2001. She passed the Philippine Bar Examination in 2002.

## Political career

At a young age, Binay started her career at MABINI under former Senator Rene Saguisag as part of the defense counsel for the soldiers involved in the Oakwood mutiny.

### House of Representatives (2007–2016)

In 2007, she was elected representative of Makati's 2nd District, succeeding Butz Aquino and passed several bills under her watch.

### Mayor of Makati (2016–present)

In the wake of her brother Junjun's ouster as Makati mayor by the Ombudsman of the Philippines in 2015, Binay announced her candidacy as Mayor of Makati, inviting fellow Makati representative Monique Lagdameo of the 1st district as vice mayor of the city competing with acting mayor Romulo Peña Jr. and Karla Mercado.
On May 9, 2016, Binay and Lagdameo won the mayoral and vice-mayoral election, respectively. They took their oath of office on June 27, 2016. Abby's first day as Mayor of Makati began three days later on June 30, and by that time her father's term as vice president already expired.
As a result, Binay is the fourth Binay family member, the second female Binay member to administer Makati in 15 years since her mother Elenita, who served as Makati mayor from 1998 to 2001. Overall, she is also the second female mayor of Makati. She was re-elected in 2019, wherein she also defeated her brother Junjun, and in 2022.
In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Binay to his Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, co-chaired by Pilar Cancela Rodríguez and Fatimatou Abdel Malick.

### 2025 Senate bid

On May 28, 2024, Binay took oath as a new member of the Nationalist People's Coalition. On September 26, 2024, Binay was named as a senatorial candidate for the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas in the 2025 elections. She later formalized her Senate bid on October 4, 2024.

### Makati–Taguig territorial dispute

In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation, which includes the Embo barangays, is confirmed as part of Taguig. Binay claimed that the dispute is "not yet over", stating that her office has received a notice that the Supreme Court has set its case with Taguig for oral arguments. This was contradicted by Supreme Court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka, who stated that there are no such documents. The Taguig City Government slammed Binay's comment and also expressed belief that her meeting with President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo was meant to "undermine the probity of our highest officials and subvert the people's trust in the impartiality of justice". Taguig's mayor sought sanctions against Binay for the statement.
Owing to the loss of the Embo barangays and being term-limited as mayor, Binay has expressed interest in running for Mayor of Taguig. To seek the office, Binay would need to resign as mayor of Makati to establish at least one year of residency in Taguig to be eligible for the post. On January 9, 2024, Binay remarked that she is "waiting for a sign" for her to push through with her campaign in Taguig; she indicated that she would finalize her decision by March 2024. Manuel L. Quezon III of the Philippine Daily Inquirer described Binay's potential campaign for mayor of Taguig as a "dynastic invasion" motivated by Makati's loss of the Embo barangays.

## Personal life

Binay is married to fellow lawyer Luis Campos, whom she met at the Ateneo Law School in 1998, since 2008. Together, they have one daughter named Martina.