Binay links revival of wife’s case to 2016 elections

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday linked the revival of a 10-year-old complaint against his wife, former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay, to the 2016 elections.

Vice President Jejomar Binay. FILE PHOTO

The Vice President, who is believed to be eyeing the presidency in 2016, said the Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor violated the constitutional rights of his wife when it revived a complaint against her, which was dismissed two years ago for lack of evidence.

“The complaint was filed 10 years ago. It was dismissed by the Ombudsman more than two years ago. But the Special Prosecutor decided to reinstate my wife without even informing her. These are glaring acts of abuse of authority and violation of her rights,” said the Vice President.

Clearly, he said, the action of the Special Prosecutor was “intended to malign the family name and is linked to the 2016 election.”

The Office of the Special Prosecutor included Mrs. Binay as an additional accused in a case stemming from a complaint during her term as Mayor over the alleged overpricing of hospital beds at the Ospital ng Makati. The former mayor was originally included in the complaint, along with several city officials but the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint in 2011 for lack of evidence.

The Vice President said he also received information that complaints by anonymous individuals will be filed against him and members of his family before the Ombudsman and the Commission of Audit.

“And while the law clearly disallows public disclosure of such complaints, the operators intend to leak copies of these anonymous complaints to media,” Binay said.

“By raising these issues, the operators are merely exposing their desperation. They are resurrecting old issues raised by my political opponents in Makati every election season. These recycled issues have remained unproven and unsubstantiated by evidence since the 1980s for one simple reason: they are complete falsehoods,” he added.

Binay lamented that instead of helping achieve the President’s objective of improving the lives of the people, some groups and individuals preferred to play “dirty politics.”

“But for some groups and individuals, the welfare of the people will have to take a backseat to politics, the discredited type of politics that we were supposed to have abandoned three years ago,” he said.

The Vice President assured, however that he would not be distracted by the demolition job aimed at him and his family.

He also expressed confidence that the country’s investigative bodies “will exercise their function with fairness, integrity and professionalism and not allow themselves to be made instruments for political demolition.”