Ombudsman should check tale of Binay aide’s vault

Vice President Jojo Binay, beleaguered by corruption charges, is pitting the country’s rich against the poor, styling himself as their leader.

Where I come from in Cebuano-speaking Mindanao, we have a term for such posturing: “kahilas.”

Kahilas describes an action or gesture of a person who’s trying hard to be somebody he’s not. The action or gesture elicits disgust.

How can Binay describe himself as poor when his family allegedly owns a big chunk of prime real estate in Makati City, not to mention property holdings reportedly in Batangas province and other parts of the country such as Bicol?

Most of the land acquisitions were reportedly purchased.

The rest of the landholdings, such as units or entire floors in newly built condominium buildings in Makati, were allegedly through the use of raw power.

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Binay pictures himself as a modern-day Robin Hood who robs the rich in order to give to the poor.

Well, in a way the Robin Hood image is correct in so far as robbing the rich and the government is concerned.

But giving to the poor? What has he given to the poor except cakes on their birthdays and bags full of groceries on Christmas as well as free movies for the elderly?

The poor are being fried in their own fat because the money spent on them comes from the taxes they also pay, along with the rich.

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The Office of the Ombudsman is now investigating the hidden wealth of the Binays through its field investigation unit.

Here’s a tip I got from a highly reliable source that I hope the Ombudsman’s field investigation unit could check for its veracity.

The same story has been going around for quite some time now, and from different sources.

A week after former Makati City Engineer Nelson Morales was buried on Sept. 15, 2012, a built-in vault kept in his house in Mandaluyong City was opened, according to my source.

Morales was killed on Sept. 7, 2012, by armed men believed to be guns-for-hire in Malinao town, Albay province.

Until now, the motive for his murder is still unknown.

But one of the suspected gunmen, Christian Saysay, 22, was found dead later in a hospital in Ligao City from a bullet wound in the abdomen.

The gun used in the killing is believed to have been fired by Morales’ bodyguard.

Back to the story about the alleged opening of the built-in vault at the Morales residence in Mandaluyong.

Morales’ sister, Malinao Mayor Alice Morales, reportedly asked help from the Binays to settle a family dispute over the opening of the vault.

The safe was reportedly big enough to accommodate persons inside, according to my source.

Morales’ wife, Nena, supposedly objected to having relatives open the vault.

So Mayor Junjun Binay, the Vice President’s son, and Makati Councilor Ferdie Eusebio were allegedly sent to the Morales home to intercede in behalf of Mayor Morales.

My source said Nena Morales eventually relented and granted permission to the relatives.

Not knowing the number combination of the vault, they allegedly sought the help of the company that sold the vault to Morales, the source added.

When the vault was opened, lo and behold!

A total of P700 million in 1,000 and 500 peso bills were reportedly found inside, according to my source.

Junjun and Ferdie, the source said, were shocked at the discovery of the huge amount.

When Mayor Junjun called his father to reveal their find, the Vice President reportedly claimed the P500 million of the total amount for himself, adding that he had entrusted the sum to Morales for safekeeping, the source said.

Binay allegedly said that the amount was his campaign fund, my source said.

Nena, young and innocent as she is, reportedly did not object to the Binays leaving her with P200 million, my source continued.

If this story is true, the Binays are indeed filthy, filthy rich!

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