Will Binay-Trillanes debate push through? VP says ‘it depends’

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Vice President Jejomar Binay INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday admitted that he was still not sure if the much-awaited debate between him and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV will push through.

“Depende (It depends),” Binay told reporters at the sidelines of the multi-stakeholders forum on the rehabilitation of areas hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”

He said both camps are already negotiating with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), which will sponsor the event, but they still have to agree on what will happen and what will be tackled.

“We’ll discuss the parameters of the discussion,” he said.

The vice president earlier challenged Trillanes, one of his critics in the Senate, to a debate. Binay had been refusing to attend the hearings of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee on his involvement in the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall parking building. He said the Senate was not the right venue for him to explain his side, since the senators have already prejudged him.

Binay said he did not want to call it a “debate.”

“I don’t want to call it a debate. It doesn’t seem like a debate. A dialogue, an explanation. For example, is the Senate doing the right thing?” he explained.

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