Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.: Part of democracy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The President has been accused of violating the Constitution while the Vice President, of committing plunder, all in the name of democracy, according to Malacañang.
“As long as this is part of the processes of the law, perhaps we should accept that this is part of the realities of a democracy,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Critics of President Aquino have filed three impeachment complaints against him for culpable violation of the Constitution, two stemming from the Disbursement Allocation Program (DAP) and one based on the government’s Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) with the United States.
On the other hand, a plunder complaint was filed against Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son Makati City Major Junjun Binay for allegedly allowing the construction of an overpriced P1.56 billion parking building beside the Makati City Hall.
The Vice President blamed political motives behind the charges as the 2016 presidential elections neared—as well as a political rival—for the plunder complaint filed by Makati City residents before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The elder Binay, a longtime mayor of Makati before he became the second highest leader of the land, had declared he would be seeking the presidency in the next elections.
“The presumption of innocence is a principle guaranteed by our Constitution. We are also aware of the realities that in the political process, there are sectors that express their opinions in different ways and others choose to file complaints,” Coloma said.–Nikko Dizon