Aquino rejects Binay plea to stop Senate, DOJ probes

By: Christian V. Esguerra - 10 years ago

President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III slammed the door on Vice President Jejomar Binay’s request that he intervene in separate investigations by the Senate and the Department of Justice into Binay’s alleged corruption.

The appeal came during last week’s late-night meeting at Bahay Pangarap where Binay asked if the President could “talk” to his “allies in the Senate,” Aquino told reporters in Leyte on Monday.

But Aquino said he suggested that Binay ask his daughter, Sen. Nancy Binay, why the chamber’s members were “known for being 24 independent republics,” meaning each senator had a mind of his own.

The Palace provided journalists in Manila a transcript of the President’s remarks in Leyte.

The inquiry by a Senate subcommittee is spearheaded by administration Senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Antonio Trillanes IV.

In the transcript, the President also admitted discussing with Binay the vice president’s request for the DOJ to stop its parallel investigation into his alleged ill-gotten wealth, such as his purported 350-hectare estate in Batangas.

But Aquino said he told Binay that such investigation was primarily the task of the Ombudsman and that the DOJ would merely “assist” if requested.

“I can assure you that you will have all your rights and due processes. We will not countenance anybody manufacturing evidence against you. We will try to keep all the processes on a very professional level,” the President recalled telling the vice president during their meeting that lasted for at least two hours.

“At the end of the day, I told him that the truth will come out, and between the two of us, you will know what the truth is, so you will know what will be coming out.”

Binay went to Malacañang last Tuesday, hours after he slammed the administration over the planned DOJ investigation, during a gathering of public attorneys. But at the same time, Binay said, the administration was not as intent on going after Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima, who is also facing plunder charges.

Binay also criticized the administration for allegedly mistreating former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was not allowed to seek treatment abroad in 2011 and has since been detained in hospital because of a plunder case.

In the meeting, Aquino said Binay “assured me of his support, and he has committed [that it] has not changed, until the last day of my mandate.”

Binay’s camp has repeatedly denied allegations that he and his family had amassed ill-gotten wealth during his term as mayor of Makati City. He has refused to appear at the Senate inquiry, claiming he has been prejudged.

Binay initially questioned the DOJ probe, insisting that it had no jurisdiction over him.

But with the President backing the investigation, his camp relented, saying: “We also have better chances of fairness and truth with Justice Secretary Leila De Lima than the Senate subcommittee, which has been one-sided from the start.”

Besides the Senate and DOJ investigations, Binay has also been threatened with impeachment, an effort being led by Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, a member of Aquino’s Liberal Party.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte has rejected the idea, however, saying “we will not investigate the VP.”

“I’m against involving the House in that. We have other priorities,” he had told the Inquirer in a text message.