MANILA, Philippines – High ranking officials of the opposition party United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) on Thursday said that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas orchestrated the preventive suspension of Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay.
In a press conference, UNA interim secretary general Atty. Jose Virgilio “JV” Bautista and said that Roxas’ fingerprints “are all over” the Ombudsman’s decision.
“Kitang-kita niyo yung nagpa-file sa Ombudsman, identified kay Mar Roxas. Yung mag-i-implement ng preventive suspension si Mar Roxas saka tauhan ni Mar Roxas. Yung iuupo nilang mayor, Liberal Party, kasama ni Mar Roxas. His fingerprints are all over,” Bautista said to reporters.
(Those who filed the case before the Ombudsman are identified with Mar Roxas. The ones who will implement the preventive suspension are Mar Roxas and his officials. The mayor that they want to succeed Binay is a Liberal Party member. His fingerprints are all over.)
This sentiment by Bautista was echoed by UNA Interim President and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco who said that Roxas arranged the suspension to remove Binay from office and be replaced by LP member and incumbent Vice Mayor Romulo.
“Ito hindi nila aaminin nila Mar Roxas pero sila ang may pakana nito,” Tiangco said.
(Mar Roxas will not admit this but he has a hand in Mayor Binay’s suspension.)
Tiangco said that the suspension is part of a “grand plan” to malign the name of Vice President Jejomar Binay, known as “Oplan Nognog 2016.”
“This (preventive suspension) order is designed para gipitin si (to pin) Mayor Binay and by extension, si VP Binay,” Bautista added.
Meanwhile, UNA executives slammed the “indecent haste” with which the preventive suspension order is being treated, pointing out the errors in the document.
“There seems no urgent reason to overwhelmingly implement it in a few hours,”
the lawyer explained.
Bautista said that the evidence to which the preventive suspension was grounded is “one sided” as Binay’s camp has not yet been able to file its counter-affidavit.
“How can the Ombudsman say that the evidence of guilt is strong when the respondent has not yet filed their counter-affidavit? In other words, napaka-one sided po ng ebidensiya ngayon, (the evidence is very one sided)” Bautista said.
The Ombudsman placed Mayor Binay and other city officials under preventive suspension due to their involvement in the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building 2.