Trillanes denies intimidating witness, hits back at Binay

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday denied threatening a witness and instead turned the tables on Vice President Jejomar Binay as he accused him of “conniving” with the contractor of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. If he’s talking about a private conversation between myself and a resource person and he’s not supposed to know anything about it unless these people are conniving with the Vice President …,” Trillanes said in a television interview.

“I talked to a number of resource persons but the Vice President should first make a categorical statement that these conversations were confided to him by a representative of the contractor which is Hilmarc’s so that will also confirm that they’re one and the same,” he said.

Hilmarc’s Construction Corp was the contractor of the   Makati building, which is the subject of the criminal charges filed against Binay and his son, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin, along with other individuals.

In a press conference early this Wednesday, the Vice President accused the senator of intimidating a representative of a contractor to stop him from testifying   during Tuesday’s hearing of the committee.

If the allegation was true, then Trillanes wondered where Binay got his information.

“Why was he having those conversations also?  Why was he conniving with the contractor?  It validates our point that the contractor and the Vice President are one and the same all along or they are partners in this endeavor,”   said the senator.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr.. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

But pressed for a categorical answer if he had indeed intimidated a witness, Trillanes said:  “I totally deny anything unless the Vice President will confirm specific instance, or specific conversation because I don’t know and the context would probably be different altogether than the one he presented.”

The senator also dismissed Binay’s claim that  the Senate   hearing, which he initiated, was politically motivated.

“Probably , the Vice President is in panic  mode already because he knows  we’re getting closer to the truth,”   Trillanes said.

He vowed to pursue the investigation despite what he said  Binay’s “attempts’  to stop  it by trying to get  public  sympathy.

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