Binay: ‘Ambitious’ people behind Junjun’s suspension as mayor

VICE President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday branded moves to suspend his son as Makati City mayor as a mere plot of “ambitious” people.

Binay brought up the issue of his son whose preventive suspension has been restrained by the Court of Appeals when he spoke during the 19th National Social Welfare and Development Forum and General Assembly held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

READ: DILG servessuspension order vs Junjun Binay

“Natutuwa ako na napili at ipinagkatiwala ninyo sa aming lungsod na pangunahan ang napakahalagang pagpupulong na ito sa kabila ng pagtangka ng mga ambisyosyong tao na alisin sa puwesto ang halal na punong-lungsod ng Makati. Malaking bagay po para sa aming pamilya ang inyong tiwala,” he said in his keynote speech.

Mayor Binay was preventively suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the allegedly anomalous construction of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building.

The suspension order was served on March 16, 2015, and Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña was immediately sworn in as acting city mayor. But just hours after, the CA issued a temporary restraining order against Binay’s suspension.

READ: CA issues TRO on Junjun Binay suspension

The Vice President, in the same speech, called on local social workers to keep the country’s social welfare resources free from politics.

“As the responsible gate keepers of our country’s social welfare resources, you have the power not only to prevent the contamination of these initiatives with political stains, but also to ensure that our less fortunate are able to finally rise to prosperous and fulfilling lives that they so desperately desire and that they so richly deserve,” he said.

Binay said one of the challenges of social workers face at both the national and local level is “having to cope with a welfare system that is subject to the personal power and political influence of government officials with whom – or through whom – social workers must typically work.”

“We have seen politics rear its ugly even in the critical delivery of relief, rehabilitation and social services in our calamity-stricken areas. And we see its potential to pollute and damage the noble intentions of this administration’s key social welfare initiative – the Conditional Cash Transfer program,” he said.

The Vice President likened social work to priesthood, saying “once you become a social worker, it becomes your vocation for life.”

“Indeed, much like priesthood, in social work, many are called, but few are chosen. And I believe this is because social work requires a special set of skills and patience,” he said.

“In very real and practical terms, local social workers help communities function. You work directly with individuals, assessing their needs and giving them access to resources in the community.”

“And as in the case of armed conflict or natural disasters, when traditional support structures collapse, you take over, helping displaced communities recover from their trauma and get back to their normal lives. This you have shown heroically in the aftermath of the Zamboanga siege, the earthquake in Central Visayas and the super typhoon Yolanda,” Binay added. AC