Senate subpanel to wrap up Binay probe in March–Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon subcommittee is planning to wrap up its investigation into the allegedly anomalous deals involving past and incumbent officials of Makati City before Congress takes a break in March 2015, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Thursday.

Trillanes, who initiated the investigation in the Senate, said the subcommittee being headed by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III will probably hold four more hearings before it wraps up its investigation.

“Gusto na naming ilabas ito lahat para matapos natin hopefully before we adjourn this March. Kasi ako, I was thinking na sabot kami ng May kasi nga walang session ng April so gusto na naming isiksik para matapos ng March,” he said at a weekly forum in the Senate.

(We want to release all of these (findings) before we adjourn this March. Because I was thinking that we won’t be able to this until May because there will be no sessions in April, so we want to finish everything so we will be done by March.)

Asked then if the probe would then be finished by March, Trillanes said: “’Yun ang sinabi ni Sen. Koko Pimentel and ako, I’m willing to submit to his decision so gusto na naming isiksik na lahat (That’s what Sen. Koko Pimentel said, and I am willing to submit to his decision so we will have to finish everything).”

It was during the hearings of the subcommittee that Vice President Jejomar Binay has been accused of amassing unexplained wealth and allegedly receiving millions of pesos in “kickbacks’ when he was still the city mayor.

Binay has repeatedly denied the allegations.

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