Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Vice President Jejomar Binay was saddened by Sen. Grace Poe’s decision to sign a Senate panel’s draft report that recommended, among others, the filing of plunder charges against him, his spokesman said on Friday.
READ: Poe signed Senate panel draft report backing raps vs Binays—Pimentel
“Nalulungkot si Vice President Binay dahil mukhang pinanigan pa ni Senador Grace Poe ang mga senador na nang-usig sa kanya at sa kanyang pamilya at nang-bully ng mga inosenteng tao,” Binay’s spokesman for political concerns, Rico Quicho, said in a statement.
“Sana man lang ay nabasa ni Senador Poe ang affidavit na isinumite ng Vice President pero binalewala ng sub-committee. Dito ay nilinaw ang mga usapin at ipinaliwanag kung bakit walang basehan ang paratang nila,” he said.
He was referring to the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee headed by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III that investigated the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building.
Various media reports said the body’s draft report on its investigation recommended the filing of plunder charges against Binay, son Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin ‘‘Junjun’’ Binay, and other personalities.
Quicho reiterated that accusations against government officials must be based on credible evidence and not from “perjured and polluted sources.”
“Plunder is a serious charge which must be fully established based on facts and prevailing jurisprudence before requiring an impeachable official like the Vice President to explain his innocence,” he said.
“Otherwise, this one-sided inquisition does nothing but promote trial by publicity that directly undermines the Constitutional rights to due process and brushed aside the presumption of innocence. It highlights the senators’ lack of respect for the rule of law,” he said.
Despite this, Quicho said the Vice President remained focused on the task at hand, adding the “biased” report of the subcommittee only makes him more determined to fight for pro-poor policies especially in the areas of universal healthcare, quality education and better job opportunities for all.
“The focus of the upcoming elections should shift from personalities and mudslinging to executive experience and one’s readiness for the job,” Binay’s spokesman added.
Poe, in a text message to reporters, explained that she read the draft report and “found the same supported by documentary evidence as well as expert and personal testimonies that remain unrebutted by (a) competent evidence to the contrary.”
READ: Why Grace Poe signed draft report backing charges vs Binays
Pimentel said he and Poe were among the four who signed the report. The two others were Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who initiated the parking probe at the Senate.
The draft report has to get the majority signatures of 17-member Senate Blue Ribbon committee headed by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III. AU