The nail in the coffin of Vice President Jojo Binay’s political career is the signing by Sen. Grace Poe of the Senate draft report recommending the filing of plunder charges against him and his son, Makati Mayor Junjun.
Other senators are expected to follow suit.
Poe is one of the more credible and no-nonsense members of the Senate.
She probably signed the report of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee with a heavy heart because of her closeness to the Binay family.
Poe is a “ninang” or godmother of the child of Makati Rep. Abigail, one of Binay’s two daughters in politics. In fact, Abby and Grace are in constant touch with each other.
Jojo Binay was the campaign manager of Grace’s father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., who ran for president in 2004.
If Grace Poe, a close family friend of the Binays, signed the Senate report—albeit with a heavy heart—there is no reason why her colleagues, who do not think highly of the Vice President, should not.
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A senator whom I won’t identify for obvious reasons said that Vice President Binay is such an obnoxious character.
“He thinks the world owes him and his family a living. He has the letter ‘B’ with a tail on all business permits and in public places like it’s the family’s coat of arms. He’s not yet President but he goes around as if he is already surrounded by bodyguards in full battle gear and sirens on full blast to announce his presence. He’s so full of hot air now. What more if he becomes President,” said the senator.
The senator said most of his fellow senators think the same way about the Vice President.
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Since Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte and Vice President Binay are presumptive rivals for the presidency in the 2016 national elections, we tend to compare the two. It’s like comparing a tricycle to a BMW sports car.
Duterte goes around with very few bodyguards.
He sometimes disguises himself as a cab driver to catch criminals in the act; other times he drives around Davao City on his motorcycle looking for cops who are sleeping on the job.
His only companion as he makes the rounds by himself is his trusty .45-cal. pistol or .357 Magnum revolver.
And, of course, Duterte—Digong to friends—has no record of corruption. The only blot in his record is the long list of robbers, thieves, rapists and drug pushers or traffickers he has made accountable for their crimes.
On the other hand, Binay ensconced himself in his air-conditioned office at city hall when he was mayor.
If he went around the city, he rode a bulletproof car followed by many bodyguards in several backup cars with sirens blaring.
That’s also what Binay does now as Vice President.
And, of course, Binay—who wants to be called “nognog,” or dark-skinned, to identify with the masses—is facing plunder charges in the Office of the Ombudsman.
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Former Ambassador Tony Cabangon Chua, a tycoon, is suing Cathay Pacific Airways for damages for being relegated to the economy class section when in fact he paid for a business-class ticket on a trip to Hong Kong last year.
Tony is a humble person, and the shabby treatment he got from the airline was too much.
This should be a lesson to foreign airlines to treat their Filipino passengers well.