Makati City parking building probe splits NP
MANILA, Philippines–Members of the Nacionalista Party (NP) are on opposing sides of the controversy over the alleged overprice of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Parking Building with the appointment of Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla as the new spokesman of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
NP members Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano are active participants in the Senate blue ribbon committee’s inquiry into the alleged overprice, which Binay lambasted for being politically motivated and a ploy to bring him down.
Insinuations that Binay received kickbacks from the parking building construction were also made in the course of the Senate probe.
It was Trillanes who filed the resolution for the investigation, and he and Cayetano have been grilling Makati City officials who claim the building’s construction was aboveboard.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, whose husband Manny Villar is the NP president, said this situation was part of politics.
“Probably because those who spoke against Vice President Binay were Nacionalista, he also got an NP member as spokesperson. That’s how politics is,” Villar told reportetrs.
But she also said Remulla earlier informed her husband that he would support Binay’s plan to run for President.
Free to disagree
Remulla reportedly wants to leave the NP when Binay forms his own political party.
Villar said NP members were free to disagree with each other and could pursue their chosen advocacies.
“We believe we’re a good party and we do our work. Sometimes, we don’t agree with each other, but that’s part of democracy. But even in our party, we allow them to do what they want to do,” she said.
Cayetano said he wished Remulla well, describing the latter as very talented and articulate.
Asked if Remulla’s move would divide the NP, he said it would not and added that in many political parties, there have been those who have signified that they would support the Vice President.
Cayetano also noted that as early as 2013, the Remullas had signified that they planned to support Binay because of conflict with the Liberal Party (LP) and their problem with the coalition between the NP and LP.
He respects the family, he added.
The NP was also not prohibiting members from doing what they want, he further said.
“We’re not thinking of 2016. It’s only Vice President Binay who is focused on 2016,” Cayetano said.
But he also gave a word of caution to “young politicians,” warning them against being associated with corruption.
“My advice to the young politicians who want to join national [politics] . . . is to be careful about corruption issues. It is a heavy burden if a corruption issue cannot be explained,” he said.
