Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines – It’s a battle between two avid supporters of President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay in the House of Representatives plenary.
During the session of the chamber on Tuesday, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice delivered a privilege speech and accused the Makabayan group of going against the term extension of the President while being keeping mum on the alleged plunder complaint against Binay over the purported overpricing of a Makati parking building.
Erice, the main proponent of the bill seeking to allow the President reelection, went on to say that the corruption charges against Binay are as “clear as day.”
Erice then said he withdrew his political Charter change bill to allow for the economic Charter change bill of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
The lawmaker made the reaction after militant groups led by Makabayan groups held a protest in his office and accused Erice of defending Aquino who they called “pork barrel king.”
“Ang ginagawa nilang pagkontra ay nakasentro lamang sa Pangulo habang nakapikit ang kanilang mata sa pangalawang Pangulo (They kept on opposing the President while their eyes are closed on the Vice President),” Erice said.
“Bakit pinagtatanggol nila na maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw ang pagdarambong sa overpricing sa Makati parking building na pinakamahal na parking building sa buong mundo? (Why are they defending Binay when the corruption in the overpriced Makati parking building, the most expensive in the world, is as clear as day?)” he added.
At this point, Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance Secretary General, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, interrupted Erice’s speech and asked for it to be stricken off the record.
“I move that this part of the speech when he is saying na may pagdarambong (that there is corruption), be stricken off the record,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco said Erice cannot make the accusations in the plenary as there is no evidence yet on the case.
“I have the right to speak about what I believe in,” Erice retorted.
Deputy Speaker Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol, who presided the session, suspended the session after the heated exchange.
After just 40 minutes to the session, the chamber adjourned without resolving on Tiangco’s motion to strike off from the records Erice’s speech.
Binay and his son incumbent Makati Mayor Junjun Binary face a plunder complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for an alleged overpriced Makati parking building constructed in 2007, when VP Binay was mayor.
The building was worth P1.56 billion but complainants said according to National Statistics Office data, the cost should have only been P245.6 million.
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV, who have expressed eyeing a higher position in the 2016, are leading the Senate probe on the matter.
Binay, meanwhile, is vying the presidency in 2016.
Liberal Party stalwarts, however, have bucked from impeaching Binay over the allegations.
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