Binay camp asks Trillanes to show evidence before CA

The camp of suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay on Thursday urged Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to present solid evidence and stop relying on loopholes when the Court of Appeals (CA) conducts oral arguments in the contempt case filed against him.

Binay spokesperson Rico Quicho said Trillanes should see the upcoming oral arguments as an opportunity to explain his “outright lies” that two CA justices accepted bribes in exchange for ruling in favor of the suspended mayor.

“Magandang pagkakataon po ito mga kaibigan, at sa taumbayan para ating makita ano po yung mag-ebidesya doon po sa sinasabi ni Sen. Trillanes. Kasi mahirap po yung nagbibintang tayo, naninira tayo ng tao nang wala naman pong basehan,” Quicho said over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

(This is a good opportunity for the people to see what is the evidence for what Senator Trillanes is saying. Because it’s hard if we just blame people, accuse them without any basis.)

Binay filed a contempt plea before the appellate court against Trillanes for accusing Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta of receiving P25 million each to stop the implementation of the six-month preventive suspension order imposed on the mayor by the Office of the Ombudsman over the allegedly overpriced Makati City hall parking building.

In a resolution dated July 28, the CA’s Fifth Division mandated Trillanes and Binay to appear before the court on Aug. 14 at 2 p.m., ordering the former to explain why he should not be cited in contempt.

READ: Trillanes names 2 CA justices in Binay TRO ‘sale’ | Trillanes told to explain why he should not be cited for contempt | CA sets oral arguments on Binay rap vs Trillanes

Quicho said the senator should stop making excuses and reveal before the court the source that he was talking about.

“Ang mahirap po kasi kay Sen. Trillanes ‘pag sa media, sa Senado kung anu-ano ang sinasabi pero ‘pag tinatanong na siya eh kung anu-ano na lang ang palusot. Eh hindi po tama ‘yun,” Quicho said.

(The problem with Senator Trillanes is when it comes to the media, or the Senate, he says many things but if he’s asked, he has all sorts of excuses. It’s not right.)

He added that Trillanes’ supposedly false claims would not only harm the integrity of the accused justices, but of the entire judiciary.

“Dapat po maging responsible siya sa kanyang mga pahayag sapagkat alam niyo po hindi lamang ‘yang mga individual justices ang sinisira niya kundi pati na rin po mismo ‘yung institution ng judiciary, so dapat po may mga paratang siya, dapat pakita niya ‘yung mga ebidensya niya,” he said.

(He should be responsible in his statements because he is not only destroying individual justices but the entire institution of the judiciary. So he should back his accusations with evidence.)

Asked about the partiality of the appellate court to precede over a case involving its own justices, Quicho said CA has a “disciplinary authority” to investigate Trillanes’ bribery accusations.

“Eh kasi po ‘yung institusyon nila ‘yung kumbaga eh naha-harass po sa mga bintang kaya kinakailangan po eh tignan din nila kung totoo bang nangyari ‘yun at may disciplinary authority po kasi yung Court of Appeals over the justices under the structure ng judiciary,” he said.

(The institution is the one being harassed of those accusations that’s why they need to take a look if it’s true that they happened and if the Court of Appeals has disciplinary authority over the justices under the structure of the judiciary.)

Binay also filed a libel case against Trillanes for “defamatory statements” and for supposedly violating Article 355 in relation to Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code.

The suspended mayor’s camp also protested the transfer of venue of the hearing from the Makati Prosecutors office to the Department of Justice. TVJ

READ: Mayor Binay files libel case against Trillanes | Junjun Binay questions transfer of libel case vs Trillanes to DOJ