Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The battle lines are drawn.
Malacañang on Monday went on the offensive as it responded to the “lies” thrown by Vice President Jejomar Binay against the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Binay and his allies were attacking the President because he could not respond to the allegations against him.
“He (Binay) continues to attack the President because he refuses to answer convincingly all allegations of corruption and ill-gotten wealth against him. We have yet to hear a response other than ‘pulitika lang yan’ (It’s just politics),” Lacierda said in a statement.
“So we say to his camp in dishing out lies against the President—‘Bring it on’,” Lacierda said.
He also questioned Binay’s attacks to the administration, which the Vice President has branded as “palpak at manhid.” (failure and insensitive)
Lacierda pointed out that in the Vice President’s remarks during last year’s World Economic Forum held in Manila, Binay praised the “positive impact of the reforms initiated by president Aquino” in the Philippines.”
Binay’s remarks, which can be read at the homepage of the Office of the Vice President, even committed “to continue and, if needed, expand the reforms initiated by president Aquino beyond 2016.”
Regarding Binay’s claims of bad governance by the Aquino administration, the presidential spokesperson turned the tables on the vice president saying, “He was with us for almost 5 years, where were his proposed solutions as a Cabinet member?”
‘Inaccurate conclusion’
Meanwhile, Lacierda denied allegations by Binay’s camp that the administration wanted government officials linked to the vice president to resign.
“Had VP (Binay) diligently read the transcript of Usec. (Abigail) Valte and not merely relied on his minions, he would not have arrived at his inaccurate conclusion,” he said.
On Saturday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that it was the “norm” for officials appointed by a Cabinet secretary to resign if their leader steps down from his post.
Valte, speaking on state-run radio dzRB, said “I’m not referring only to the vice president. Any time a Cabinet secretary resigns from a position, it is conventional for the team he brought in to tender their courtesy resignations to the President.”
Binay’s camp, through his head of media affairs Joey Salgado said that Valte’s remarks showed that the Palace had joined in the “inquisition” against the political opposition.
It has been a week since Binay resigned from the Aquino Cabinet and stepped down as head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ affairs.
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