Remulla out, Corona lawyer Rico Quicho in as new Binay mouthpiece

MANILA, Philippines–A litigation lawyer who was one of the spokespersons of Chief Justice Renato Corona during the latter’s 2012 impeachment trial is the new political spokesperson of beleaguered Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Lawyer Rico Quicho replaces Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, who had earlier said he would be representing Binay only until December 2014.

The 36-year-old Quicho, who teaches evidence and civil procedures at San Beda College in Alabang, said he was ready for the job, now made even tougher as Binay continues to face controversies and allegations of corruption from former colleagues.

The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee is scheduled to resume its inquiry into the corruption allegations against Binay later this month.

In a text message on Tuesday, Remulla said he would continue to help Binay’s communications team and will be “involved in the rollout of the economic program of the Binay presidency.”

“I’m running for reelection as governor. My constituents might get mixed signals if I’m still too high on the national issues,” Remulla said, explaining his decision to keep low-key his involvement with the Binay camp.

The Cavite governor described Quicho as “very good.”

Binay’s main spokesperson and the head of his media office, Joey Salgado, said Remulla would continue to be part of the Binay team, “crafting the platform of government and policies.”

Quicho, who is with the Quicho and Angeles law firm, said Binay had asked him to be his spokesperson for political concerns last Monday when they were both in Cebu.

He said he had been on board the Binay train since 2013, “helping quietly in the background” in the Vice President’s communication and policy sections. He said he had been helping Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, JV Bautista and Remulla with the communications aspect of the Binay operation.

He said he got to know Binay through mutual friends that included Tiangco, who was one of the witnesses for Corona at the impeachment trial.

He also admitted to writing to Binay in 2013 to ask him if he could join the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) as he planned on eventually running for Congress in Bataan.

He said Binay told him to help in his presidential campaign and Quicho agreed.

The lawyer said he was not scared of the job of spokesperson for Binay.

It is not the first time that Quicho will be speaking for someone as controversial as Binay, having acted as one of the three spokespersons for Corona during the then Chief Justice’s six-month-long impeachment trial in 2012—the others being fellow lawyers Karen Jimeno and Tranquil Salvador III. He noted he was more low-key compared to Jimeno and Salvador.

He sees his job as “informing the people of the issues, relaying the Vice President’s answers to the people and communicating properly the programs and achievements of the Vice President’s office.”

“There will be no misinformation, no sugar-coating,” Quicho said, adding that it will all be the “plain truth.”