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.
RELATED STORIES
Binay breaks silence on carpark row, accuses Trillanes of witness intimidation
Binay: Makati even saved millions from controversial building