Binay probe sparks war of tabloids

The war between Vice President Jejomar Binay and the senators bent on exposing his alleged corruption and official misconduct has now extended to the doorsteps of Makati residents and those of 72 other cities reached by a seemingly double-dealing tabloid.

“Dyaryo Bistado,” whose declared purpose is to let the people know about the alleged corruption of Binay and his family, first emerged during the All Souls’ Day/All Saints’ Day commemoration when it was seen being distributed for free at the Pasay City cemetery.

The articles in the paper (a mix of original and reprints from other news outlets) discussed the so-called Hacienda Binay in Rosario town, Batangas province, the kickbacks from infrastructure projects that allegedly went to Makati government officials and the “world-class” cost of the toilet bowls at the allegedly overpriced Makati carpark building.

Last month, however, a completely different version of the same tabloid found its way into the hands of some Makati residents. This version had the face of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on the cover with the headline “Mag-ingat kay Trillanes!” (Beware of Trillanes.)

Door-to-door

An Inquirer employee who received a copy said that it was being distributed door-to-door and to people at the Barangay Pembo village hall. This version of Dyaryo Bistado carried mostly reprinted stories from other tabloids, mainly questioning the political motivation of Trillanes and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in opening a Senate inquiry into the Binays’ projects and properties.

A reprint of an opinion piece from the People’s Tonight written by Mario Fetalino discussed the possible reasons why Cayetano and Trillanes were targeting the Binays, and went on to claim that the two senators also had irregularities to answer for.

Taking responsibility

The pro-Binay version of the tabloid came with a flyer saying that the Senate inquiry was “in aid of political ambition and persecution” and not “in aid of legislation.” It urged the Senate to stop wasting its time investigating Binay and focus instead on the more pressing problems of the country, especially those concerning the poor.

Only one group has so far owned up to being responsible for Dyaryo Bistado, that is, for the original, anti-Binay version.

Jhasper Cuayzon, a leader of the United Makati Against Corruption (Umac), confirmed in a phone interview on Saturday that the group was responsible for printing and distributing the anti-Binay paper.

Umac is composed of Makati residents and students who have been rallying in the streets against overspending and the demolition of the shanties of informal settler families in the city.

On its Facebook page, Umac said it had distributed three issues of Dyaryo Bistado in different parts of Metro Manila and even outside like Cebu, Baguio, Dagupan, Bicol, Isabela and Davao.

“We write some of the original articles in the tabloid while some are just copied from other newspapers and tabloids,” Cuayzon said.

He said the paper is funded by “a lot of supporters.”

Cuayzon denied that Umac has released a pro-Binay version, which bears the exact nameplate that the group used on the tabloid they released earlier.

Distributed nationwide

Whoever is responsible for the new version is just copying their initiative and using it to misinform readers, he said.

Joey Salgado, a spokesperson for the Makati government, said that they have no information on who released and distributed the pro-Binay version of the tabloid.

“What I know is that tabloid is anti-Binay and distributed not only in Makati but nationwide,” Salgado said in a text message.

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