Binay’s daughter Abi calls Cayetano a ‘bully’

By: Marc Jayson Cayabyab - 10 years ago

Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Representative Mar-Len Abigail Binay said Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is bullying her father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to prop up his own presidential bid in 2016.

“By bullying the vice president and his family, Senator Cayetano hopes to attract a lot of attention and generate loads of free publicity for himself. This is why he is targeting us,” Rep. Binay said in a statement on Monday.

Congresswoman Binay is reacting to a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe led by Senators Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV over the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall annex.

The probe stemmed from a plunder complaint filed against Vice President Binay and his son Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. in connection with the controversial Makati building that was supposedly worth P1.56 billion.

The complaint lodged in the Office of Ombudsman alleged that based on National Statistics Office data on the average cost of the construction of commercial buildings, the cost should have been at P245.6 million that year.

Congresswoman Binay added that Cayetano has been open to his staff about gaining more traction in his presidential campaign.

“Senator Cayetano has been telling his staff that he wants to quadruple his voter support, and get at least 15 percent of the votes by around this time next year. Otherwise, he will supposedly drop out of the presidential race,” Binay said.

The vice president’s daughter added that Cayetano is obviously targeting her father for media publicity. Both Cayetano and VP Binay have expressed interest in running for president in 2016.

“The senator knows that he will get scarce media hype if he quarrels with other potential targets. So he is now on hard sell mode – forcefully trying to promote himself at the expense of the vice president and his family, which is downright uncalled-for,” Binay said.

The congresswoman also said Cayetano has been “aggressively courting” select House members, even the non-aligned party-list groups, to support him this early.

“We wish the senator could just promote himself through positive public relations — by conveying to everybody all his accomplishments for the country. To be able to climb up, people do not have to put other people down,” Rep. Binay said.

The resolution for the Senate probe was filed by Senator Trillanes. Both Cayetano and Trillanes belong to the Nacionalista Party. Trillanes is reportedly eyeing a higher post in 2016.