Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay accused the Palace of having full knowledge of the political attacks being hurled against him and his family after being served his second suspension order in six months from the Office of the Ombudsman Monday.
Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman issued preventive suspension orders against the mayor, as well as 14 other city officials, over allegedly anomalous contracts of the Makati Science High School.
Among the respondents of the complaint-affidavits is Binay’s father, Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, who last week resigned from his post in the Aquino Cabinet.
“It’s clearer than day that the President knows exactly what is happening here. Now it cannot be denied. How can the President not know what his men are doing?” he said.
Mirroring his father’s tirades, he said the present administration has been engaging in “selective justice” while refusing to go after Aquino’s allies who were likewise involved in anomalies.
“The Ombudsman’s actions cannot be more obvious. When there are complaints against administration allies, it sleeps on the job. But when a Binay is involved, investigations are rushed even when the charges have no basis at all,” he said.
This is the second time in six months that the mayor received suspension orders since March, when the Ombudsman first issued a six-month preventive suspension order against Binay, who is also being tried for separate charges on graft over the alleged anomalous building contract of Makati City Hall Building II.
“We know that we will not receive fair treatment under the administration. If you think about it, it hasn’t even been a year since the Senate hearings [over his first suspension charges]. This is my second suspension order while other cases sleep,” he said.
The younger Binay also hit on the Liberal Party (LP), challenging the party to admit that the charges against him are all part of an attempt to replace him with an LP member.
The mayor said his lawyers would exhaust all legal remedies on the case, including submitting a petition to the Court of Appeals just like they did last time.
On Monday, a representative from the Office of the Ombudsman reportedly came to the Office of the Mayor and the respective offices of the other city officials named as respondents in the case to furnish them with a copy of the suspension order. Personnel from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials and Philippine National Police (PNP) officers accompanied the Ombudsman’s representatives. The mayor’s office, however, refused to receive the order.
Claro Certeza, Binay’s lawyer, slammed the science building case against the mayor, dismissing the evidence used as basis for suspension as “mere hearsay.”
“It is just sad that we are here again, going through this same exercise with the main purpose of removing the mayor from his office because of the upcoming elections,” the lawyer explained.
He described the suspension order as “legally infirm” and as having been issued “with grave abuse of discretion.”
Binay’s lawyer added that under the Ombudsman Act, evidence of guilt must be strong for a preventive suspension to be considered valid.
Certeza reiterated that the “hearsay evidence” based on the allegations of former city general services head and former vice chair of the Makati’s bids and Awards committee Mario Hechanova would not be admissible in court.
During his first suspension, the mayor spent 28 days inside his office on the 21st floor of the City Hall building until the Court of Appeals granted his petition for a preliminary injunction and issued an indefinite injunction over the suspension.
He again plans to stay inside his office on the 21st floor for as long as it takes to fight for his position and for the residents of the city.
Meanwhile, about 500 of the mayor’s supporters gathered anew at the Makati City Hall grounds shouting “Binay! Binay!” to express their support for the mayor as three police trucks carrying around 300 policemen arrived, signaling that suspension order could be served any time.
The entrance of the city hall building was also closed late Monday afternoon after news that DILG officials and the police would serve the order. With Krixia Subingsubing, intern. SFM
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