Kris Aquino graces Makati mayor’s birthday celebration

MANILA, Philippines —Actress and television host Kris Aquino was among the well-wishers of Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Jun-Jun” Binay who celebrated his 34th birthday Tuesday.

Aquino, who came with stylist Liz Uy, joined Binay, his family led by Vice President Jejomar Binay, and City Hall employees in a thanksgiving mass.

According to some employees, Aquino, who sat beside the mayor, immediately left after the mass.

This was followed by a series of activities for the benefit of city residents, including the launching of Makati Benefits Card and the opening of the third route of the electric jeepneys in the city’s old Poblacion and Guadalupe Viejo districts.

The “Makati B Card” is a unified benefits card that integrates the Makati Health Plus Card, BLU Card and Heart Card into a single card.

Starting on Wednesday, until the 21st, the city government will issue the first 1,000 B Cards to senior citizens in various barangays as part of the program’s pilot implementation.  Regular employees of the city government have also started to receive their B Cards.

Binay also drove an e-jeepney to launch the four-kilometer Heritage Loop Route. Four units of e-jeepneys will ply the route, offering free rides to the public. The e-jeepneys will start at the Estrella St.-Edsa terminal and traverse the streets of barangays Poblacion and Guadalupe Viejo, the old communities of Makati that date back to the Spanish era.

Another highlight of the day was the inauguration of the new 10-story Makati City Hall Parking Building, along F. Zobel St. near City Hall, which will house key offices of the city government now occupying the old City Hall, and parking slots for officials and visitors.

The mayor also inaugurated the new 12-story Health and Physical Sciences Building at the University of Makati (UMak).  The new building will house various scientific laboratories, a simulated hospital with vital sections, sports facilities, among others.

Binay also turned over to the Makati Police Department 47 motorcycle units.