Elenita Binay

Elenita Gabriel Sombillo was born on November 9, 1943, in Angat, Bulacan to Faustino Sombillo, a former vice mayor of the said town, and Loreto Gabriel.[1][2] His father also owned a construction company, while her mother had an embroidery export business. Having been orphaned early, she worked at odd jobs like taking care of a relative's poultry, going to the market, and learning to type papers as she was determined to complete her studies. She took up medicine at Manila Central University. She then worked as a resident physician and OB-GYN at José R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center. There, she would meet her would-be husband, human rights lawyer Jejomar Binay, who represented the DT Law Office in the hospital's court case. They later got married on July 1972, just before the declaration of Martial Law.[3][4]

Elenita Binay, though employed as a medical practitioner, ran and won as Mayor of Makati after her husband vacated the post. She became the first female Mayor of Makati, serving from 1998 to 2001.[5]

Binay's (and private businessmen Li Yee Shing, Jason Li and Vivian M. Edurise, and Ernesto Aspillaga's) arraignment for graft charges was set by the Sandiganbayan's 4th Division on January 18, 2008. Binay was charged of alleged anomalous purchase of office fixtures and furniture for the new Makati City Hall from private contractor Office Gallery International from December 1999 to February 2000, regarding the acquisitions worth ₱13.25 million overpriced by ₱3.6 million.[6] Binay was acquitted of two of the charges in 2021.[7][8]