Junjun Binay, 6 Makati execs face contempt for snubbing Senate probe

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Makati  Mayor  Jejomar  Erwin  “Jun-Jun” Binay and  six other officials of the Makati City government  are facing contempt citation   for continued  refusal to attend the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee’s  hearing  into the  allegedly  overpriced  Makati City Hall 2 parking  building.

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chairman of the subcommittee, said he signed a recommendation to the mother committee, the Senate blue ribbon committee being headed by Teofisto Gongona III, to cite at least seven officials in contempt.

The offense, he said, is punishable with a simple warning, censure or arrest.

Pimentel  refused to name  the  seven officials   but  Guingona’s office  confirmed that  Binay was  among the  seven  officials recommended to be cited in contempt.

Aside  from Binay, the  six others recommended  to be cited  in contempt  are the  following: Professor  Tomas Lopez, Atty. Eleno Mendoza, Ms. Eduviges Ebeng Baloloy, Marjorie de Veyra, Engineer  Line Dela Pena, and  Bernadette Portollano.

Binay and other local officials showed up once in the hearing of the subcommittee but not the succeeding invitations by the panel, requesting that they be given advanced copies first of the questions that would be asked by senators.

Pimentel said Guingona’s committee has yet to act on his recommendation.

Before this, Claro Certeza, lawyer of the Makati City officials, reiterated their request for the subcommittee to provide them advanced copies of questions by senators, citing a previous ruling by the Supreme Court.

But Pimentel stood firm against what he described as a “novel” request.

“This is a novel request. I’m not aware of any right of a resource person, witness or even a suspect in a hearing for accountability which will give the right to ask fort advanced questions   and if they are not given, they refuse to appear,” he said when sought to comment on Certeza’s statement.

“This is a very novel idea. If they want to question this all the way to the Supreme Court, maybe the Supreme Court will entertain this because of the novelty of the idea pero as a lawyer I know of no ground to grant the request first before enforcing  a subpoena so  pasensya na lang because  hindi ko po makuha  kung bakit the Makati officials  are on a different  level that they have such a right,” Pimentel added.