Vice President Jejomar Binay has signed his death warrant as far as politics is concerned when he defended his son, Makati Mayor Junjun, who has been depicted as “abusive” in the Dasmariñas Village incident.
The elder Binay, considered unbeatable for the presidency in 2016, is now dead politically.
Former Sen. Freddie Webb, then very popular among the masses because of his exploits in the basketball court with a promising television career, suffered a humiliating defeat when he ran for reelection after he said his son Hubert, one of the respondents in the Vizconde massacre case, was innocent.
The killings that happened in June 1991 was then dubbed the “crime of the century.”
The public perception was that Hubert and his coaccused were guilty, but a Supreme Court ruling later said they were innocent.
If Freddie Webb, whose son’s guilt had yet to be determined by the courts, got the ire of the public for defending Hubert, how much more Jejomar Binay whose son’s behavior was captured on video!
Vice President Binay said his son deserved “a little courtesy” from the security guards at the Dasmariñas gate who didn’t let his convoy through.
It was a classic statement of entitlement. It reminds us of then Senate President Jose Avelino who defended abuse of power by politicians in his time with the infamous statement, “What are we in power for?”
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The Binay children, Mayor Junjun and Senator Nancy, had the security guards detained by the Makati police for hours.
Those guards belong to the tsinelas-wearing masa that put the Binays in office.
Junjun and Nancy have apparently forgotten the humble beginnings of their father.
Jejomar was a poor boy who grew up in the red light district at the boundary of Pasay and Makati cities. The place is gone now.
If you believe old-timers’ tales, one story goes that as a young boy, the then-mayor allegedly washed bed pans for some ladies of the night.
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The Makati police say the guards were not arrested but willingly went with them to the station.
Who are they trying to fool?
A police “invitation” to the station is tantamount to an arrest without a warrant.
A civilian who doesn’t accept the “invitation” is liable to get roughed up or shot.