Binay Jr. will face suspension order, says spokesman

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay will face the suspension order by the Office of the Ombudsman, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

“Mayor Binay, the Vice President and the other respondents would face the suspension and the complaint knowing that it is against a well-oiled government machinery that would not stop at nothing to persecute and prevent the political opposition from running in the upcoming election,” lawyer Rico Quicho, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s spokesperson on political affairs, said in a statement.

“The people will ultimately decide. And in the end, we know that the truth will prevail and that the Vice President and his family will be vindicated,” Quicho said, reacting to the Ombudsman’s six-month preventive suspension order on the mayor in connection with the allegedly anomalous construction of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building.

The spokesman though criticized what he described as “undue and deliberate haste” in the implementation of the suspension order of Mayor Binay and other respondents in the complaint.

“The undue and deliberate haste in the implementation of the preventive suspension of Mayor Binay demonstrates the direction to which the Ombudsman would like to proceed with the case,” he said.

“It would have been desirable if the Ombudsman had scrutinized and evaluated the supporting documents so far presented in support of the complaint against Mayor Binay, Vice President (Jejomar) Binay and other respondents before a rash and precipitate action,” he further said.

From the very start, Quicho said the Vice President and his family have expressed their readiness to face the charges against them and “they welcome this opportunity to once again explain their side and answer all allegations being hurled against them by their political opponents.”

“And while we respect the decision to issue a preventive suspension order against Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay, we pray that the Office of the Ombudsman will not allow itself to fall victim to the machinations of those with political ambitions,” the spokesman added.