Bongbong, Binay one in hitting ‘vindictive’ Aquino administration

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday stopped short of declaring a presidential bid in 2016, but said the country needed a leader who would unify it into “one country, one nation.”

In his speech before members of the National Unity Party (NUP) during its convention at Sofitel, Marcos said the vindictiveness and “polarized politics” which marred the current administration has not helped the nation.

In hitting the current administration for being vindictive, Marcos seemed to be echoing the tune of Vice President Jejomar Binay, who has criticized the Aquino administration of selective justice and vindictiveness by filing corruption charges against political opponents while turning a blind eye to allies.

Marcos said the next leader should be able to unify the country instead of resorting to vindictive politics that only divided the country.

“Confrontational, and eventually, adversarial form of governance – where vindictiveness becomes part of government policy in going after so-called political opponents – have resulted in dividing the nation,” Marcos said.

“Imbes na pinagkakaisa ang ating bansa, ang nangyayari ay pinagwawatak-watak at pinag-aaway away tayo. Ang naging problema, hindi na naisasantabi ang pamumulitika. Natapos na ang halalan, namumulitika pa rin,” Marcos said.

Senator Marcos is the son of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was overthrown in a people’s uprising during the time of the country’s history when several human rights violations were rampant. It was also during the Marcos regime that then opposition senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated. President Benigno Aquino III is the son of Ninoy and former president Corazon Aquino.

Senator Marcos is eyed as the vice presidential running mate of Binay in the 2016 elections.

Marcos told the audience not to expect an announcement on his plans for 2016.

But he said the country needs a leader who would not divide the nation because of politics.

“This adversarial kind of political activity has led to the detriment of the country’s development. That is why if there is anything we need, we should be looking for a leader na ipagkakaisa ang Pilipinas sa dami ng problema ng bansa,” Marcos said.

He said the next leader should be able to return the Philippines into “one country, one nation.”

“In this coming election, I think it is absolutely imperative that the country find a leadership–it cannot be done by one man or woman, it cannot be done by one sector, it has to be done by the whole country and we must find that unifying force to return the Philippines to be one country, one nation, working together to heal the nation and make it better, to make it better for our people,” Marcos said.

In his speech before the NUP members, Binay scored the administration’s move of filing corruption cases against political opponents ahead of the next elections.

Binay himself faces a graft investigation with his son Makati Mayor Junjun for the alleged overpriced Makati Parking Building II and the Makati Science High School Building during their terms as Makati mayor.

The Vice President criticized the present administration of turning a blind eye to allies and pursuing corruption cases on opponents. He pushed for a one year moratorium before the elections on filing corruption charges.

“Sa darating na halalan may kalaban, inaabuso ho ang pananakot na ihahabla. Sa Ombudsman, o kung meron mang kaso sa Ombudsman, ay pipilitin nang ma-akyat sa Sandigan para magkaroon pa ng preventive suspension. I want to point out that there should be a moratorium. One year na i-enforce sa mga magkakandidato na wala na munang hablahan para wala nang tinatakot,’ Binay said.

“‘Yung administrasyon ko po, would be a unifying and healing administration. Tama na po ang vindictiveness… The rule of law would prevail, hindi natin magiging karanasan itong selective justice,” Binay said, eliciting applause from the audience.

Binay: ‘Let’s move on’

Binay is eyeing the Marcos son despite the former’s experience as a lawyer-activist during the Marcos dictatorship. Binay was even a member of the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism (Mabini), which campaigned against the ousted President Marcos’ rule. The group included former Senators Rene Saguisag and Joker Arroyo.

Ahead of his presidential bid, Binay sang a different tune about the Marcos dictatorship. Even though he was a human rights lawyer-activist detained during the dictator’s rule, Binay said it is time to move on from the issue of thousands of human rights violations during Marcos’ rule, saying it is no longer an issue now.

“Enough of vindictiveness. Let’s move on. Human rights (during the martial law) is no longer an issue,” Binay said when asked about a possible conflict with picking Sen. Marcos as his running mate in the 2016 elections.

Under the present administration, plunder and graft charges have been filed resulting in the detention of three senators–Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile (who is out on bail), and Jinggoy Estrada–and two former congressmen–Rep. Rizalina Lanete and Edgar Valdez–in connection to the alleged pork barrel scam. JE

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