Trillanes tells Binay: We’re not done yet

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV: We’re not done yet. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Senate isn’t done yet with Vice President Jejomar Binay and he should brace himself for more hearings on alleged anomalies in Makati City, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said on Thursday.

Regardless of its findings on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II, the blue ribbon subcommittee would expand its inquiry to include possible anomalies in the construction of five other buildings in the city, Trillanes said.

For the subcommittee’s next hearings, the senator is training his sights on the Makati Science Building, Nursing Building, City Hall I, Ospital ng Makati and Friendship Suites.

“If we have one hearing per building, that would be five hearings. We’ll even conduct an ocular inspection. We can’t squeeze everything into one hearing,” he told reporters at a press forum in the Senate.

Partial report

The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, is set to issue a partial report on whether the P2.28-billion parking building built during Binay’s watch as mayor was overpriced.

Binay has been accused of taking kickbacks from infrastructure projects built by a favored contractor, among other corruption charges. He has skipped the hearing and let his spokespersons do the talking.

He was recently been accused of owning a P1.2-billion, 350-hectare high-end estate in Batangas province.

The Vice President has denied all the accusations, saying these were part of the so-called “Oplan Stop Nognog 2016.”

Trillanes said the partial committee report on the parking building had no bearing on the future investigation of other anomalies in the city.

“This is covered by our resolution which carries the phrase, ‘all other related anomalies.’ So, all of this is covered. If we look at the Senate rules, a Senate investigation has wide jurisdiction,” he said.

Limlingan

Trillanes also accused Binay’s camp of coddling Gerardo Limlingan, who has defied a subpoena by the subcommittee to appear in the hearing.

Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado has named Limlingan as one of the recipients of bags of cash meant for Binay. The money represented kickbacks from projects.

“They’re coddling him because they know that if we get him, he’ll bare the soul of their syndicate,” Trillanes said, citing reliable information that the Binay camp was “hiding” Limlingan. “I hope he’s not been buried.”

Batangas farm

“This is my question to the Binays: If this isn’t yours, what do you care if 100 helicopters fly over there?” he said, referring to the high-end farm in Rosario, Batangas.

Binay’s camp maintained that the Vice President does not own the estate, and that he leased only nine hectares of it for his piggery farm and his wife Dr. Elenita Binay’s flower farm.

Since Binay sold his interests in the piggery farm to Agrifortuna Inc. in 2010, only his wife’s flower farm remained under lease, his lawyer said.

The lessor of the property now is Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp., operator of Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park.

Meeting with Aquino

Still on Binay, Trillanes said that meeting President Aquino after the Vice President slammed him showed Binay’s true character.

Binay met with the President following his criticism of the administration’s double standards in dealing with corruption.

“I think that meeting was an attempt at amicable settlement because he hit the President in the morning, and then tried to calm him in the evening,” Trillanes told reporters in a press forum at the Senate.

“He hit the President with the left, and then shook his hand with the right. But I’m sure President Aquino never trusted Vice President Binay,” he added.

Binay had a “cordial and jovial” meeting with the President purportedly to smooth things out at the latter’s official residence in Bahay Pangarap late Tuesday night.

Earlier that day, speaking before an event at the Public Attorney’s Office, Binay slammed the Department of Justice’s move to investigate him in connection with the Senate inquiry into the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building.

While the administration mistreated former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, it had been soft on Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima who was accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth, Binay said.

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