Binay: New Senate building issue being used to fuel Makati-Taguig feud

NEWEST LANDMARK The new Senate building, though still under construction, looms large in Taguig City. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay on Tuesday said the new Senate building issue is being used to fuel the Makati-Taguig feud, adding that the same senator is conducting hearings again just like in 2015.

During a press briefing, Binay did not name the senator allegedly using the Senate building issue, but she mentioned several times that the new chairperson of the Senate Committee on Accounts has not talked to her about issues involving the new building.

Binay previously chaired the committee, which is now headed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

“In the beginning, I didn’t want to think about it that way, but as it went on, it seemed like we were going back to the Taguig-Makati issue, especially since my intentions of running for a local post was made public,” she said in Filipino.

“So going back to my experience in 2015, he used the Senate hearings because of the Makati-Taguig issue. Isn’t it the same senator? Then there’s a building and there’s a hearing, right? It seems to have three components already, it’s bewildering why you have to destroy the institution just because of the Makati-Taguig issue,” she added.

Binay did not mention what hearings were related to a building and Cayetano, but the latter was a central figure in the Senate’s probe into the Makati City Hall Parking Building in 2015.

The parking building was a project of Binay’s father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, when he was still Makati mayor. Cayetano claimed that the building was overpriced.

READ: Cayetano to Binay: Just explain how building cost hit P2.28B

READ: Senators to inspect ‘overpriced,’ ‘green’ Makati parking building 

The Binays called out the timing of the hearings and the subsequent Commission on Audit reports, as the former Vice President was mounting a presidential bid at the time.

READ: Junjun Binay laments timing of Makati carpark building audit report 

While the Binay family seems to be facing internal issues too, there are rumors that outgoing Makati Mayor Abby Binay has hinted at running for Taguig’s mayoral post.

The declaration came after 10 barangays previously under Makati were transferred to Taguig.

READ: Serious or not, Abby Binay’s run for Taguig mayor faces rough road 

Taguig has been the bailiwicks of the Cayetanos, with Senator Cayetano’s wife, Lani Cayetano, being the incumbent mayor. Senator Binay, meanwhile, has been rumored to be aiming for Makati’s mayoral post.

Senator Cayetano is expected to lead a hearing on the new Senate building on Wednesday after the current Senate leadership expressed concerns about expenses ballooning from P8 billion to a projected P23.3 billion.

Senator Binay is asking whether the hearings intend to finish the construction of the new Senate building or sow intrigue.

“For me, going back to the Makati-Taguig, going back to 2016, there were 24 hearings, so what is the true intention? Do they intend to finish the building, uncover the truth, or is it all about politics like 2016?  Because if you see, there are the same templates, same components,” she said.

She also claimed that the current committee chairperson has demanded documents from the Department of Public Works and Highways and other agencies but has yet to meet with committee staffers, which would have informed him that the documents he needs are already available.

“Usually, the system is if you are appointed to a specific position, you call your staff … and you introduce yourself, like ‘look, I am now in charge of building the new Senate building, please introduce yourself.’ But it has never been done. It’s been more than a month, but he does not know who are behind the construction of the building,” she said.

“So if that’s his action, for someone with a playful mind, you will think, ‘what are his true intentions?’ Because why do you have to call for a hearing immediately when I saw a copy of the letter, the letter was dated June 18, and then he said he was being snubbed. But technically, if there was a proper turnover, the documents he is looking for are available,” she added.

READ: Nancy Binay hits gossip, fake news about new Senate building 

INQUIRER.net has asked Senator Cayetano for his side of the issue but he has not replied as of posting time.