Jinggoy Estrada warns Binay against appearing in Senate hearing

Senator Jinggoy Estrada. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Don’t dare enter the lion’s den.

This was the advice of detained Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada to his political ally, beleaguered Vice President Jejomar Binay, who has been fighting off accusations that he enriched himself when he was still mayor of Makati City.

“I don’t advise him to attend the Senate blue ribbon committee [hearing]. First of all, he will only be disrespected there,” Estrada told reporters after attending his bail hearing in the Sandiganbayan.

“Second, it’s like entering a lion’s den. I believe what’s happening in the Senate now is like a circus,” he said.

Estrada, who is detained for his alleged role in the P10-billion pork barrel racket, said Binay’s accusers should just let the Office of the Ombudsman conduct an investigation of the Vice President’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“This is what they did to us. They persecuted us in the Senate blue ribbon committee. They’re now doing the same to Vice President Binay,” he said.

Estrada challenged Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, to initiate an inquiry into the reported irregularities in the bidding and construction of the Iloilo Convention Center, which was funded by pork barrel funds of Senate President Franklin Drilon.

“If they really want to prove that they are not just after the members of the opposition, they should also investigate their political allies,” Estrada said.

“That’s why I am challenging the [Senate] blue ribbon committee and Guingona to show the same enthusiasm they showed when they investigated us in the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam, in the investigation of the Iloilo Convention Center [controversy],” he said.

Guingona said on Monday the blue ribbon committee would formally investigate the alleged overpricing of the P700-million Iloilo Convention Center, a pet project of Drilon.

Estrada also warned Binay against facing Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in a public debate, saying the Vice President had “nothing to gain” from the confrontation.

The senator expressed sympathy for Binay after Senator Alan Peter Cayetano presented photographs from the social media account of Joanna Marie Bianca Binay, the Vice President’s youngest daughter, as proof of Binay’s ownership of the upscale P1.2-billion agricultural estate in Rosario, Batangas province.

“Of course I feel very, very upset. Our children are being dragged into these controversies. They should just leave our children alone because they are not public officials,” he said.

Estrada’s son, Jolo, was dragged into the pork barrel scam controversy after he posted pictures showing him wearing expensive shoes and holding a key of a Ferrari sports car, triggering an uproar from netizens.

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