Video by INQUIRER.net’s Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines–Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay on Tuesday brushed off the plunder charges against him and his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, saying they were filed by “perennial contenders and serial losers in Makati elections.”
Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
“We are ready to face these complaints and all other allegations they intend to throw our way. The truth and the facts are on our aside,” the younger Binay said in a statement.
“We just hope that the concerned agencies of government will be fair and impartial,” he said.
In a nine-page complaint-affidavit filed before the Ombudsman, Renato Bondal and Nicholas Enciso VI accused the Binays and 21 incumbent and former city officials of Makati of being behind the alleged overpricing of a parking building built along F. Zobel Street in 2007.
According to the respondents, the project was worth P1.56 billion but the National Statistics Office data said the cost should have been P245.6 million only.
The Makati mayo said they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint.
Photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net
He questioned the timing of the plunder complaint, saying it came after the results of a Pulse Asia survey showed his father, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, as the leading choice for the 2016 presidential elections.
“Clearly our opponents have become desperate to put my father down. Their intention is to malign him by raising baseless accusations like the ones raised in their so-called complaint,” he said.
He said the complainants were “perennial contenders and serial losers in Makati elections.”
“We are ready to face these complaints and all other allegations they intend to throw our way. The truth and the facts are on our aside. We just hope that the concerned agencies of government will be fair and impartial,” he said.
According to him, the Vice President and himself would remain focused on their work.
“We will continue working to improve the lives of our people, especially the poor. We will not be distracted by fabricated complaints that are clearly connected to the 2016 elections,” he said.
RELATED STORY
Plunder complaint filed vs Binay, Makati officials