Junjun Binay, 6 Makati execs face contempt for snubbing Senate probe
Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Jun-Jun” Binay and six other officials of the Makati City government are facing contempt citation for continued refusal to attend the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee’s hearing into the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall 2 parking building.
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chairman of the subcommittee, said he signed a recommendation to the mother committee, the Senate blue ribbon committee being headed by Teofisto Gongona III, to cite at least seven officials in contempt.
The offense, he said, is punishable with a simple warning, censure or arrest.
Pimentel refused to name the seven officials but Guingona’s office confirmed that Binay was among the seven officials recommended to be cited in contempt.
Aside from Binay, the six others recommended to be cited in contempt are the following: Professor Tomas Lopez, Atty. Eleno Mendoza, Ms. Eduviges Ebeng Baloloy, Marjorie de Veyra, Engineer Line Dela Pena, and Bernadette Portollano.
Binay and other local officials showed up once in the hearing of the subcommittee but not the succeeding invitations by the panel, requesting that they be given advanced copies first of the questions that would be asked by senators.
Pimentel said Guingona’s committee has yet to act on his recommendation.
Before this, Claro Certeza, lawyer of the Makati City officials, reiterated their request for the subcommittee to provide them advanced copies of questions by senators, citing a previous ruling by the Supreme Court.
But Pimentel stood firm against what he described as a “novel” request.
“This is a novel request. I’m not aware of any right of a resource person, witness or even a suspect in a hearing for accountability which will give the right to ask fort advanced questions and if they are not given, they refuse to appear,” he said when sought to comment on Certeza’s statement.
“This is a very novel idea. If they want to question this all the way to the Supreme Court, maybe the Supreme Court will entertain this because of the novelty of the idea pero as a lawyer I know of no ground to grant the request first before enforcing a subpoena so pasensya na lang because hindi ko po makuha kung bakit the Makati officials are on a different level that they have such a right,” Pimentel added.
