Roxas loyalists behind smear campaign vs Binay—UNA

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco.  FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) secretary general Toby Tiangco said the Liberal Party is considering Vice President Jejomar Binay as their guest candidate, and that those launching a smear campaign against the Vice President are only the loyalists of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

In a statement on Tuesday, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said that Binay was clear when he said that being a guest candidate is a “scenario (being) considered within the Liberal Party.”

Tiangco, however, said Binay was not informed formally of an endorsement by the President.

He noted though that the close relationship between Aquino and Binay as the country’s top chief executives “goes beyond politics.”

“The closeness of the Aquino and the Binay families goes beyond politics. It’s a kinship forged by adversity, trust and shared democratic principles and values—and not political convenience,” Tiangco said.

The UNA official said he only sees as a “downside” that loyalists of Roxas, who has also expressed his bid to run as President, will persist with their demolition job against Binay.

Tiangco said these Roxas loyalists are bound to cite the plunder complaint lodged against Binay before the Ombudsman over the overpriced Makati parking lot. But he said even the Commission on Audit said it didn’t find it anomalous.
“The downside is that those who are loyal to Mar Roxas will become more desperate in their demolition job against the VP,” Tiangco said.

“We are certain that the group identified with Roxas will point to the so-called plunder complaint as reason for not adopting the VP. This complaint has been exposed as a sham… Pasado sa COA, kaya walang basehan at paninira lang (The COA approved of it, so it does not have a basis and it is only part of a demolition job),” he added.

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