Tiangco: Binay smear campaign begins

Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco said the “vicious” and “relentless” black propaganda against Vice President Jejomar Binay has begun.

Tiangco, who is also the secretary general of the United Nationalist Alliance, cited the alleged “white paper” report that said Makati Representative Abigail Binay used her Priority Development Assistance Funds allocation from 2007 to 2009 for “pro-Binay rallies” and “hakot crowds.”

“The public can check and review the records anytime. There is nothing to hide since all the projects mentioned in the white paper were above-board, properly implemented and fully liquidated down to the last cent,” Tiangco said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tiangco said the report tried to drag the Binays into a controversy because Vice President Binay was supposedly enjoying good ratings as potential presidential candidate in 2016. Binay has expressed his intention to run for president.

“When the… Pulse Asia survey showed that the Vice President topped the list of ‘preferred’ presidential candidates for 2016, we already expected that the Binay family will be a favorite target of those who have set their sights in 2016,” Tiangco said.

“We were right, after all,” he added.

The white paper, Tiangco said, which masqueraded as an investigative report, was peddled to media and it accused the Binays of being involved in the alleged multibillion pork barrel scam purportedly led by Janet Lim-Napoles.

“Our opponents are trying to present a clean and competent image, but after they were linked to the Napoles and their incompetence exposed to the public, here they are wanting to involve the innocent,” Tiangco said.

Rep. Binay has denied the report, saying she could not have used her PDAF from 2007 to 2009 because she was then not a congresswoman.

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