Vice President Jejomar Binay did not address the corruption allegations hurled against him in his counter State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.
Speaking before a jampacked gymnasium of the Cavite State University on Monday, Binay instead dedicated his speech in hitting the Aquino administration’s “manhid” and “palpak” response to calamities and disasters, the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), and the botched Mamasapano operation, among others.
Instead of directly addressing the corruption allegations against him, Binay chose to decry selective justice under the administration, where allies of President Aquino such as Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya and Budget Secretary Butch Abad are spared of graft raps over the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) and the DAP, respectively.
For his part, Atty. Harry Roque, eyed to run as senator under Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance, said Binay need not answer the corruption allegations because he has submitted his counter affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Binay has also submitted an affidavit to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the alleged corruption when Binay was Makati mayor.
“Ginawa na ni VP Binay (ang lahat). He has submitted his answer to the Ombudsman. Siguro pagkakamali ni Binay na hindi siya pumatol sa pulitika sa Senado. Minabuti niyang sagutin isa isa ang mga paratang sa kanya,” Roque said after Binay’s Sona.
The Ombudsman is investigating Binay and his son Makati mayor Junjun for graft over the alleged overprice and rigged bidding of the Makati City Hall Building II and the Makati Science High School Building.
In his counter affidavit before the Ombudsman, Binay hit the Ombudsman for selective justice when its investigating team found probable cause to indict Binay for graft over the alleged rigging of the Makati City Hall Building II, and its fact finding team recommended graft over the anomalies in the Makati Science High School Building.
This while the antigraft unit dismissed for lack of merit the graft complaint against Abaya over the anomalous MRT maintenance contract with Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp. (PH Trams)-CB&T joint venture. Abaya is the Liberal Party’s acting president.
Meanwhile, indicted for graft is sacked MRT General Manager Al Vitangcol for failing to declare his family relationship to an incorporator of a contractor.
“Lumipas pa ang mahabang panahon bago may inihabla ng korapsyon. Pero ang tanong ng dating MRT general manager, bakit ako lang? Ang tanong din ng taumbayan: Oo nga naman. Bakit siya lang?” he said.
(We had to wait a long time before a corruption case was filed. But the question of the MRT’s former general manager was this: “Why is it that I am the only one charged with the accusations?” And the people also asked: “Yes, why is it he is the only one charged?”)
Binay also made an indirect swipe against Abad as the “budget scam mastermind” of the administration for his DAP, an economic stimulus package portions of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
“Ngunit iba sa daang matuwid. Iba ang trato sa kalaban sa pulitika, iba naman para sa kapartido at kaalyado,” he said. (But it is different in the “right path.” Those they see as enemies are treated differently from their allies.)
“Wika nga ng paboritong blogger ng administrasyon, “I’ve got your back.” Kaya untouchable ang budget scam mastermind ng administrasyon,” he added. (As a favorite blogger of the administration said, “I’ve got your back.” Thus, the budget scam mastermind of the administration remain an untouchable.)