Senate to arrest Binay Jr. Thursday

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

MANILA, Philippines—The Senate on Wednesday gave the go signal for the arrest of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. and five others for contempt, after junking all procedural challenges raised against the directive of the Senate blue ribbon committee.

The arrest of Binay and the five others is expected to be done this morning, according to Senate rules committee chair Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

A city official said the mayor would be at the Makati City hall before 9 a.m. and will wait for the Senate sergeant at arms to arrive.

Joey Salgado, the city’s information unit head, said Binay would be in his office. “He has already said everything. He will not say anything anymore,” he told reporters.

Cayetano said the city officials would be brought straight to the hearing room for today’s inquiry on alleged Makati anomalies by the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee.

They can refuse to answer questions by invoking their right against self-incrimination, and unless they do something new that would be contemptuous, they may go home after the hearing, said Cayetano.

This means they could actually avoid being detained. He noted that the contempt citation was for their refusal to attend the inquiry, and this would be remedied by their presence in the hearing.

“For as long as he doesn’t do anything else that is contemptuous of the committee, he can probably go home. Of course if he creates trouble, that’s a different story,” Cayetano told reporters, adding that he thinks Binay is a decent man.

Earlier, the Senate rules committee, after a “passionate” discussion, said the blue ribbon committee had a quorum when it met to decide on the contempt issue. It said that under the committee’s rules, the presence of two members could constitute a quorum in a hearing or in a meeting.

Acting Minority Leader Sen. Vicente Sotto III had insisted that when it comes to meetings, the Senate rules state that one third of members must be present for there to be a quorum.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan also said the conflict on procedure should have been resolved in favor of the protection of the rights of people.

But according to the rules committee, the blue ribbon committee could make its own rules and as it turns out, it has rules allowing two members to constitute a quorum in meetings or hearings.

The blue ribbon committee earlier ordered the arrest of Binay and five others for their refusal to attend the subcommittee’s hearings on the alleged Makati anomalies. With a report by Kristine Felisse Mangunay