A human rights lawyer during the Martial law period under President Ferdinand Marcos, Binay provided free legal services to political prisoners before being arrested and detained at the Ipil Rehabilitation Center.

Though the latter lost to Benigno Aquino III, Binay won the vice presidency, garnering 41.65% of the vote cast, with runner up Mar Roxas receiving 39.58%.

He is the younger of two children of Diego "Jego" Medrano Binay, a librarian from Bauan, Batangas, and Lourdes Gatan Cabauatan, a school teacher from Cabagan, Isabela.

[13] In 1980, Binay, Augusto "Bobbit" Sanchez, Rene Saguisag, Fulgencio Factoran, Lorenzo Tañada, Joker Arroyo, and other human rights lawyers created the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity, and Nationalism (MABINI).

[4] On February 27, 1986, Binay became one of President Corazon Aquino’s first appointed local officials after Mayor Nemesio Yabut died while in office during the EDSA Revolution.

His active role in the defense of the Constitution earned him the nickname "Rambotito" (or little Rambo, after the screen hero), the Outstanding Achievement Medal and a special commendation from Aquino.

He ran for his sixth and last term as mayor on May 14, 2007, and won again by a significant margin beating incumbent senator and actor Lito Lapid.

Among those who expressed support were former president Corazon Aquino, actress Susan Roces – the widow of the late movie star and 2004 opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. – and several Catholic bishops.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division dismissed the graft case filed against him and his six co-accused for lack of factual basis even prior to Binay's arraignment.

The city government also said the order was flawed since Baquiran had no authority to issue writs of garnishment and freezing the personal accounts of Binay and Mercado were also unlawful.

[citation needed] The garnishment orders were eventually lifted by Malacañang Palace, but not until after Binay slammed the move as politically motivated and patently illegal.

[28] The suspension order generated national media attention, and prompted even administration senatorial candidates to protest publicly, saying the action further undermined their chances in the elections.

The alleged "black propaganda" device had little to no effect on the campaign of Binay, who closed the gap of votes between him and leading vice presidential candidate Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II in a survey.

Binay initially showed a relatively poor performance in public opinion polls, trailing behind senators Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas, the latter of whom was heavily favored to win the race, but Binay's standings improved as the elections approached, overtaking Legarda and tying with Roxas in the final survey conducted.

Binay was appointed chairman of the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) by President Noynoy Aquino, the same position held by his predecessor, Vice President Noli de Castro and Presidential Adviser for Overseas Filipino Workers (Presidential Adviser for OFW Concerns).

[34] During this time, Binay was assigned to lead "Task Force OFW", which helped Overseas Filipino Workers who were maltreated by their employers to return to the Philippines with the assistance of the government.

[36][37][38] However, in a Pulse Asia survey released in September 2015, he placed third after senators Grace Poe and Mar Roxas, the latter of whom was the ruling Liberal Party's presidential candidate.

[44] He aimed to improve the situation in state colleges and universities, public health hospitals and clinics, police stations, and mass housing.

As part of his plans, he included a redesigning and re-engineering of the transportation system of the country, as well as prioritizing the building of more infrastructure and the creation of more jobs.

We're tired of the lack of basic services...we're struggling under a numb and failed government,Binay lost the 2016 presidential election to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

[54] Binay was named to the senatorial slate of Sotto's running mate for president, Senator Panfilo Lacson, as well as to the MP3 Alliance and TRoPa of presidential aspirants Manny Pacquiao and Leni Robredo, respectively, as guest candidate.

[55][56] His Senate bid was also endorsed by vice presidential aspirant Sara Duterte,[57] former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,[58] the Makabayan bloc,[59] Iglesia ni Cristo,[60] and the Council of Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.