Trillanes says he’ll campaign for Binay rival

Acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña and Abigail Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

While he will no longer play an active role in Senate hearings on alleged irregularities involving Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV will still be part of efforts to break the Binay family’s hold on Makati City.

Trillanes, who is running for vice president, said he would campaign for acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña to help him win the mayoralty race next year.

Peña will be running against Abigail Binay, the Vice President’s daughter and an incumbent Makati representative. She was fielded by the family after her brother, suspended Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, was perpetually banned from holding public office by the Ombudsman over irregularities in the construction of a parking building.

The Binays have ruled Makati for almost three decades.

“We need to campaign for Mayor Kid Peña to put a stop to the Binay dynasty,” Trillanes said in a radio interview. Peña is a member of the Liberal Party while Trillanes is with the Nacionalista Party.

Trillanes, in a separate phone interview, said he would volunteer to help Peña court votes in the city.

It was Trillanes who initiated the blue ribbon subcommittee hearing that tackled alleged irregularities involving Vice President Binay, a former longtime mayor of the city, and his son.

The first issue it handled was the alleged overpricing of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Building II which began construction when the older Binay was still the mayor. It was completed after his son took over the post.

The Office of the Ombudsman has since found probable cause to file graft charges against the two over alleged irregularities in the infrastructure project.

Trillanes said he would no longer take part in the subcommittee hearings because he was already a declared candidate for Vice President and did not want to be accused of using the hearings for his own campaign.