Roxas fires back at Binay, twits VP about corruption allegations

MANILA, Philippines—After Vice President Jejomar Binay insinuated that Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II was an ineffective leader for being bypassed by his subordinates during the botched Mamasapano operation, Roxas used the corruption allegations against Binay to question back his leadership.

“Nakakatawa din dahil ibig sabihin alam pala niya lahat nang nangyari sa Makati ayon sa kanyang patakaran na dapat alam lahat ng leader ang nangyayari sa kanyag tanggapan. Eh ‘di dapat alam lahat niya ang nangyayari sa Makati na iniimbestigahan ng Senado.” Roxas told reporters in Camp Crame on Wednesday.

(It’s funny because this should mean that he knows everything that’s going on in Makati based on his standard that a leader should be aware of everything happening in his office. So he must have known about the goings-on in Makati that the Senate is investigating.)

In an interview with Bombo Radyo Dagupan, Binay said the Mamasapano debacle that led to the killing of 44 policemen showed the kind of leadership Roxas has.

“Maraming mga expectations, may mga bahagi nga ewan-ewan. Paano ka maniniwala na hindi nalalaman ‘yun? Kung totoo man, ‘di ba ang sama ng pamumuno mo kung iniikutan ka ng mga tao mo?” said Binay.

(There had been expectations and parts that were rather confusing. How do you believe that he did not know about it? If it were true, just what kind of leadership does he have that his subordinates are just bypassing him?)

He said that the fact that Roxas was not informed about the covert operation reflects his subordinates’ distrust in the Department of Interior and Local Government secretary.

Roxas replied that unlike Binay who denies his accountability in the corruption allegations in Makati City, he was deliberately bypassed by his subordinates.

“Sa akin naman dito sa Mamasapano at Special Action Force 44, kitang kita, kayo mismo nadinig niyo ‘yung testimonya na itinago sa amin. Hindi ko lang alam kung may tatayo doon sa Makati na magsasabing tinago sa kanya ang mga kaganapan,” Roxas said.

(On my part in the Mamasapano (operation) and the Special Action Force, it was quite obvious that based on the testimonies, it was deliberately hidden from me. I just don’t know if someone will say that the mischiefs in Makati were hidden from him.)

Sacked SAF chief Getulio Napeñas has repeatedly said that the botched Mamasapano operation was hidden from Roxas, among other officials.

The tension between the two politicians has been high since Binay beat Roxas in the 2010 Vice Presidential election.

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