MANILA, Philippines—“I did not offer any help.”
This was the response of President Benigno Aquino III which refuted the claim of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s camp that it was the president who first offered help to the vice president in facing graft charges lodged against him.
“He was asking advice, for instance, on what to do. So I didn’t offer to help. He asked for advice on what—how to handle the situation amongst other things,” Aquino said.
President Benigno Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay. III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
During the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum on Wednesday, Aquino said that Binay’s camp had the story “in reverse.”
“He stated the fact that Dra. (Elenita) Binay was hurting from all of this. I didn’t ask about the family. He volunteered the information. The person who did what, I guess, with all due respect to the person, I think he had it reversed. He had it in reverse,” Aquino added.
Aquino clarified that it was Binay who first arranged their meeting last October 14 and sought his advice on how to face the corruptions allegations hurled against him.
The chief executive quoted Binay as saying that “Tanggap ko na magkaiba tayo sa pulitka pero magkaibigan tayo (I accept that we differ in our political beliefs but we are friends).”
In a statement released Tuesday, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, Binay’s spokesman for political concerns, said that Aquino asked Binay about his family to which the vice president responded that “the family was hurting from all the lies and baseless accusations, especially [against his] wife.”
To this, Aquino allegedly asked how he can help.
Aquino has earlier confirmed that they have talked for two hours in Bahay Pangarap last week about Binay’s corruption charges and their “olden times” together.
The president reportedly told Binay that at the end of the day, “truth will come out.”
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