Trillanes: Binay camp buying silence of witness

Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines–The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay has allegedly been trying to buy the silence of former Makati City officials to stop them from testifying in the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee that has been looking into alleged anomalies in Makati.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday alleged that Binay’s camp has been paying off former Makati City engineer Nelson Irasga P10 million for every subcommittee hearing he skipped.

Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado also said common friends he had with Binay had approached him to buy his silence and even asked him to name his price after he began testifying in the subcommittee on alleged corruption in Makati, but he refused the offer.

The Binay camp denied that the Vice President tried to buy the silence of his accusers.

“There is no need to buy their silence because the Vice President is confident of his facts,” Binay’s spokesman, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, said in a text message.

Mercado said he had more evidence against Binay after someone close to Binay’s office delivered to him a balikbayan box full of documents that might help the investigation of the Vice President.

Binay’s camp has been castigating the Senate subcommittee hearings as a farcical exercise and he has refused to heed its invitation to appear before it, but the Senate on Wednesday stepped up its efforts to get him to appear before it.

Binay challenge accepted

The blue ribbon committee chair, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, on Wednesday said he was accepting Binay’s challenge, made in a TV interview, where he said he would appear before the Senate if the invitation would come from the mother committee.

Guingona appeared for the first time in the subcommittee hearing on Wednesday and said he was heeding Binay’s call.

“What we need from him is the truth and nothing but the truth. We expect that he will provide this,” he said.

Guingona also said the Vice President would be treated properly and would be given the opportunity to explain and would be given respect.

The Vice President’s spokesman JV Bautista said Binay would consider the invitation.

Trillanes said he was accepting the Vice President’s challenge for the two of them to debate and said Binay just needed to name the time and place. The debate could even be held in the Batangas hacienda, he said.

“If this will help bring out the Vice President, and if this is precondition before he appears before the Senate, we will do it,” he said.

As for Binay’s condition for him to present evidence first, Trillanes said the entire country had already seen that. He said he was not hiding behind his immunity in the Senate.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Trillanes said Irasga was supposed to be a witness at the subcommittee probe, which started as an inquiry into the alleged overprice of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Building II.

“But he was paid P10 million by the camp of Vice President Binay, and this was relayed to us. That is per hearing. That is why we continue to encourage Mr. Irasga because he will just continue to get the P10 million. The moment the payment stops, engineer Nelson Irasga will appear here,” Trillanes said.

Mercado, in the course of denying he was paid millions and his company given favors to speak against Binay, said that if there was anyone offering to pay him, it was probably Binay’s camp.–With a report from Christine O. Avendaño

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