Binay, Cayetano trade barbs at Senate hearing

Senators Nancy Binay and Alan Peter Cayetano —Senate PRIB photos

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Nancy Binay walked out of the Senate inquiry on the construction of the new Senate building in Taguig City after trading barbs with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday.

Cayetano, the Senate committee on accounts chair, launched an inquiry after Senate President Francis Escudero decided to suspend the project, citing the surge in the building’s price tag from P8.9 billion to P23.3 billion.

Binay, who, as former chair of the panel, had supervised the project, maintained that the construction cost had reached only P21 billion.

READ: Binay questions intent behind issues hounding new Senate building

“You’ve been going around saying my numbers are incorrect. So if they’re wrong, correct it, but the people who gave us these numbers were your staff,” Cayetano said.

“Do you want to help or you just want to disrupt this? What’s your intention of disrupting this hearing? It’s P23 billion total,” he added, saying the amount included the price for land acquisition.

Binay said she only wanted the new building to be completed. The two continued arguing until Binay asked Public Works Undersecretary Emil Sadain if there was any mention of P23 billion in their documents for the new building’s cost.

Political angle?

“There is none,” Sadain said. “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I made my point. There’s no such thing as P23 billion in DPWH. Thank you, Mr. Chair,” Binay said. She then walked out of the room while Cayetano was calling for an order.

Earlier, he accused her of feeding reporters with pre-planned questions in an attempt to link the issue to the territorial dispute between Taguig and Makati cities. Taguig is the Cayetanos’ political bailiwick, while Makati is the Binays’. The Supreme Court declared with finality in 2022 that 10 “Embo” barangays in Makati City were under the jurisdiction of Taguig.

“Why would I give questions to the media, Mr. Chairman? Maybe that’s something you would do—give questions to the media. Excuse me,” Binay told Cayetano.

On Tuesday, she said she believed the questions over the new Senate building had something to do with the territorial dispute, especially since she was running for Makati mayor next year.

“I’ll go back to 2015 … this kind of system should not be repeated, where the Senate is used for personal ambition or vendetta. I should be prepared … it’s actually giving me a feeling of déjà vu,” Binay added, apparently referring to the year when the Senate investigated alleged irregularities in the Makati City Hall parking building.

Binay also said that a fellow senator, whom she refused to name, was sowing intrigue about her and her bloc in connection with the new Senate building.

“You’ve been going around radio stations saying some senator was stabbing you in the back. Why don’t you file [for] attempted murder? Who’s stabbing you in the back? I don’t know anything about that,” said Cayetano.

“Did I say it’s Alan Peter Cayetano? You know what they say, the one who reacts that way is probably guilty?” Binay replied.