Now’s the time for Binays to refute raps, says LP legislator
MANILA, Philippines–Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, will now have a chance to debunk the plunder charges leveled against them in connection with the construction of the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building after a panel of investigators formed by the Ombudsman formalized the investigation of the Binays and 22 other public and private respondents.
Quezon City Rep. Kit Belmonte, a leading member of the Liberal Party (LP), issued this comment on Tuesday as he expressed confidence that the investigators were sure about the strength of its evidence against Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay when they filed the graft complaint against them.
The Binays had refused to appear before the Senate blue ribbon committee investigating the alleged irregularities in the construction of the parking building, describing the hearings as politically motivated and the Senate subcommittee as a “kangaroo court.” The Binays, who had denied all the charges, had said they preferred to answer the charges in the Ombudsman.
Prosecution
Belmonte, in a press statement, noted that the filing of the criminal complaint starts the possible prosecution of the Binays, who had maintained all along that the allegations of graft against them “are the handiwork of losers and political opponents.”
The lawmaker said with the preliminary investigation, “the Binays will now have the opportunity to face the music and contest the allegations against them at the Office of the Ombudsman.”
The elder Binay had rejected all invitations for him to appear before the blue ribbon subcommittee chair Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, and Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV, maintaining that the three would only insult and humiliate him, like what they did to the other resource persons invited by the panel.
The younger Binay appeared voluntarily at the first hearing and refused to attend subsequent hearings until he was compelled to appear before the committee on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by the Senate.
Standard bearer
The Binays have claimed that the charges and the Senate investigation were orchestrated his political opponents, including Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, believed to be the Liberal Party standard bearer for the 2016 presidential elections. Binay had declared his intention to run for president following his election victory as vice president over Roxas in 2013.
