Binay, Escudero meet at Davao City restaurant

Senator Francis Escudero and Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Former allies Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Chiz Escudero met at a restaurant here on Sunday upon the invitation of former Davao del Norte Representative Antonio Floirendo Jr.

The relationship between Binay, who is running for president, and Escudero, who is eyeing the vice presidency under Senator Grace Poe’s ticket started to sour after the 2013 elections, when the United Nationalist Alliance dropped him and Poe from its senatorial ticket.

Binay heads the UNA.

Escudero and Poe later joined several other colleagues in signing the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee’s report, which backed the filing of plunder charges against Binay for the Makati City Hall Building II anomaly.

Binay, who graced the opening of the Boy Scout of the Philippines’ national jamboree in Tagum City, on Saturday, was to fly to Manila later on Sunday, when Floirendo called him up and invited him for lunch at the Filipino Comfort Food Restaurant at the Damosa Complex in Lanang here.

Binay arrived at the restaurant around 12:30 p.m. and was immediately told by Floirendo that he had also invited Escudero over.

As Binay was chatting with Floirendo and other supporters, Escudero arrived at the restaurant on a white SUV around 1:30 p.m.

The two were later seen laughing together but it was not certain what they talked about.

Both of them did not grant media interviews.

Floirendo said nothing political was discussed and that he initiated the meeting so that Binay and Escudero could talk again after months of being estranged.

Floirendo described the meeting as cordial and that both politicians were civil.

He admitted he had offered Escudero a seat beside Binay but the Senator had declined and took a chair across the vice president.

Floirendo said he thanked both politicians for accommodating his request to have lunch with him, which lasted for about an hour.

Binay went ahead to catch his flight, which sources said, was the same plane as the one Escudero would take. SFM