VICE President Jejomar Binay said he was hurt and sad about the graft charges he is set to face over the allegedly overpriced Makati car park building.
Interviewed after he led a boodle fight in Hardin ng Pagasa, Mandaluyong City, Binay said he was hurt about the Ombudsman’s graft indictment against him, his son, dismissed Makati mayor Junjun, and 22 others over the alleged rigged procurement for the design and construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.
“Nasasaktan pa rin ako at nalulungkot sa pangyayari. Hindi naman tayo nagpapakahipokrito,” Binay told reporters.
In a separate statement sent by his office, Binay further said he laughed but then felt sad when he read the Ombudsman’s resolutions recommending graft, malversation of public funds, and falsification of public documents for his involvement in the first two phases of the project, deemed the country’s most expensive car park building.
He further said that there are cases which are gathering dust at the Ombudsman and yet his graft complaints before the antigraft body were promptly resolved ahead of the 2016 elections.
While plunder complaints were also filed against the vice president, the Ombudsman has yet to start its investigation on the criminal aspect of plunder, a non-bailable offense.
“Binasa ko kagabi ang rekomendasyon ng Ombudsman. Natatawa ako na nalulungkot. Natatawa ako dahil mahigit isang taon ang telenovela sa Senado. Kung anu-anong kasinungalingan ang sinabi nila laban sa akin,” Binay said, referring to the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigation led by his political foes on alleged corruption in Makati when he was mayor.
“Ang investigation ng Ombudsman minadali. Inaalikabok yung sa mga kapartido at kaibigan. Pero kapag Binay, express lane. At walang tigil ang pag-aakusa sa akin sa media sa higit isang taon,” he added.
In the interview in Mandaluyong, Binay lashed at the Ombudsman for being used as a pawn by the current administration to slap corruption charges against members of the opposition while turning a blind eye on others.
The Binay camp has consistently cited as proof of selective justice, the Ombudsman’s investigation into the MRT service contract mess and the outlawed Disbursement Acceleration Program, where Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya and Budget Secretary Butch Abad were let off the hook. (Abad is only facing probe for technical malversation, a lesser offense, while President Aquino, whose DAP was his alleged pork barrel, was spared).
Binay said the Ombudsman is obviously playing politics when it announced Binay’s graft indictment on Monday, a few hours after he filed his certificate of candidacy for president at the Commission on Elections.
“Bakit niyo naman itinaon sa pagfa-file namin ng certificate of candidacy (COC)? Talagang politikang-politika lamang po… Ang end goal is demolition by perception,” Binay said.
He also blasted the Ombudsman’s statement that it announced the indictment on the day Binay filed his candidacy as part of its mandate to inform the public of its investigation ahead of the presidential elections.
Binay said it would seem the Ombudsman is playing judge only to disqualify the members of the opposition from the 2016 elections.
“Gusto ang kalaban nila, ma-disqualify… Ang lumalabas ang Ombudsman ngayon ay humuhusga na, kung sino ang dapat manalo dahil dini-disqualify ang kalaban,” Binay said.
The Ombudsman alleged that Binay signed the pertinent procurement documents which resulted in the awarding of the contracts to favored contractors Mana Architectural and Interior Design and Hilmarc’s Construction despite anomalies in the procurement process.
The agency also said Binay turned a blind eye to the anomaly, especially as city hall officials allegedly conspired with contractors to rig the procurement.
Binay said he has a “ministerial” role in signing pertinent documents as Makati mayor.
He said the Ombudsman is obviously targeting him to derail his presidential bid, because while it admitted that Binay as an impeachable officer is immune from suit, it still recommended the filing of charges at the end of his term as vice president.
“Bakit naman po sinama pa ako sa resolution? Mayroon akong immunity. Sinira nila ako eh. Hindi ko raw ni-review ang mga papeles, hindi ko raw tiningnan. Hindi ko trabaho yun eh. Ministerial lang basically ang pagpipirma diyan. Lahat ng mga mayor, pumipirma lang niyan,” Binay said.