Mayor Binay ordered: Explain your repeated snub of Senate probe

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon sub-committee will issue show cause order on all resource persons, including Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, who have repeatedly snubbed its ongoing investigation into the parking building controversy.

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who presides over the hearing, gave the order after Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV protested the absence of the mayor, certain officials of the Makati City Hall and other resource persons who were subpoenaed twice by the body to face the inquiry.

Pimentel said the subpoenaed persons should explain before the committee the reason for their absence and their snub of the subpoena.

The subpoenaed individuals, he said, should also convince the body why they should not be cited for contempt.

Before this, Trillanes said the sub-committee should compel the presence of the absent resource persons in its next hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

“I believe we have exhausted enough and this is my opinion: ‘Yung paghahanap sa kanila and it’s time to take this thing to the next level of course without trampling upon their individual rights. Pero kelangang ma compel natin silang pumunta dito. If not, eventually maisyuhan sila ng warrant of arrest…” he said.

(I believe we have exhausted enough and this is my opinion: It’s time to take this thing to the next level of course without trampling upon their individual right. We have to compel them to come here. If not, they will be eventually issued with a warrant of arrest.)

“So it goes sa Hilmarc’s ‘yung mga uma-alibi na sumasakit ang tiyan, hindi na uubra ‘yan. They have to be here in the next hearing,” the senator said, referring to officials of Hilmarc’s Construction Corp., which bagged the parking building contract.

(So it goes with Hilmarc’s officials who use the alibi that they have stomach aches, that will no longer fly. They have to be here in the next hearing.)

Trillanes also issued the same message to officials of the Makati City Hall who did not show up in two hearings of the sub-committee.

“As well as ‘yung mga City Hall officials, talagang hinahamon nila itong ating Senado. So sabi ko nga, we will not take that sitting down. We will exhaust and exert necessary measures to compel them. Hindi sila pwedeng magtago sa saya ng Vice President dito dahil lahat sila kakaladkarain namin dito,” he added, referring to Vice President Jejomar Binay .

(It also applies to the City Hall officials who are challenging the Senate. As I said, we will not take that sitting down. We will exhaust and exert necessary measures to compel them. They cannot hide under the cloack of the Vice President in this issue because we will drag them here.)

Cayetano reiterated his call to the Vice President to face the Senate and answer all the allegations against him.

The Vice President was the city mayor when the construction of the controversial parking building started in 2007.