Trillanes to continue exposé on Binays, ‘bring dynasty down’

Even when faced with a libel suit that came with an arrest order, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV will not zip his lips when it comes to his personal crusade against Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family, especially come election campaign time.

Trillanes on Wednesday said he would continue to expose the Binays “and bring their whole dynasty down” during the campaign season, which kicks off next week.

“I have been doing it since 2014 and I won’t stop during this campaign,” Trillanes, who is running as an independent vice president, said in text messages to the Inquirer.

The senator, who is in the United States, said he would go directly to the Makati City regional trial court to post bail on his arrest warrant once he returns home “early next week.”

Makati RTC branch 142 issued on Tuesday a warrant of arrest against Trillanes for allegedly maligning the Vice President’s son, dismissed Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, in connection with the purported overpriced construction of the city’s parking building.

In April last year, the younger Binay filed the libel complaint against Trillanes for “publicly and maliciously accusing him of bribery, graft, corruption and plunder during media interviews and in articles published in newspapers on the alleged overpriced construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.”

On Wednesday, Trillanes said he was in Washington, D.C. to attend the National Prayer Breakfast upon the invitation of the US Congress and would be “definitely” home “as soon as the scheduled activities here are done” and that would be “definitely, by early next week.”

Noting that the law required him to post bail in person, Trillanes acknowledged he would go directly to court to do so when he returns home.

He said the libel suit filed against him was “nothing but a harassment suit meant to distract me and diminish my role in the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings.”

“Regardless, I will continue to expose them and bring their whole dynasty down,” Trillanes said.

He also stressed the issue on the Binays was “an issue bigger than the election.”

Reacting to Trillanes, Sen. Nancy Binay scoffed at his statement that the libel was a harassment suit by her family, reminding they underwent a Senate hearing that lasted for almost two years.

“For us, the hearing went on for one year and seven months and this covered 25 hearings. And then he has one libel case, he feels so oppressed,” the senator told reporters.

And the fact that the court issued a warrant of arrest against Trillanes showed their case against him had basis, according to Senator Binay.

Trillanes filed the resolution seeking an inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon committee into the involvement of Binay in the alleged overpriced construction of the city’s parking building which was constructed when the latter was still city mayor.

A subcommittee chaired by Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III conducted the inquiry that lasted for one year and seven months and the investigation expanded to several alleged irregularities, which included the alleged overpriced construction of Makati City Science High School as well as the alleged anomalous land deal between the Boy Scout of the Philippines and Alphaland Inc.

So far, the subcommittee produced a partial committee report in November last year on the alleged overpriced construction of the city parking building where it recommended plunder charges against the two Binays.

Last Monday night, Pimentel sponsored on the floor the partial committee report, and thus opened it for plenary debates. But deliberations on it were suspended last night.

Speaking to reporters, Senator Binay was asked to comment on Trillanes’ bid to continue to expose her family on alleged irregularities.

“Let’s just respect his decision,” she said of Trillanes, also pointing out her family also sought remedy for his statements against them by filing the libel suit.

Told that Trillanes would bring it up in the campaign as an issue, Senator Binay countered that she hoped this would help in his vice presidential campaign. Trillanes is trailing other vice presidential candidates.

On the partial committee report now for plenary debate, Senator Binay said they expected this to happen and stressed their focus remained to be how to help people. She said her father was busy meeting and explaining to people his side.

Meanwhile, Binay spokesperson Joey Salgado made it clear the partial report was already released to the media last year and that this was “stale.”

“But Senator Pimentel presented it to the plenary because this is the survey period,” Salgado said in a statement.

“It’s part of a chorus of attacks on the Vice President led by the Liberal Party candidate himself and his spokespersons at the Palace, namely Misters (Edwin) Lacierda and (Manuel) Quezon III,” he said.

Salgado contended that the partial report would not stand in a court of law “for relying on perjuries and hearsay from tainted witnesses.” RC