Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas holds a consultation at the factory of Italian furniture designer Giovanni Boschi in Mandaue City, Cebu. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—“Spare this country from thievery.”
Alarmed by the promise of Vice President Jejomar Binay to do for the country what he did for Makati City, Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II had this plea to his rival, who’s currently facing a slew of corruption charges.
In an interview in Alang-Alang, Mandaue City, Roxas dished out sarcasm against Binay when asked to react about the latter chiding him for his poor performance in poll surveys.
READ: Binay chides Roxas for being fourth placer in surveys
“Sabi mo Vice President Binay, gagawin mo sa Pilipinas kung ano ang ginawa mo sa Makati. Naku, ‘wag naman. Kawawa naman ang Pilipinas kung nanakawan mo ang Pilipinas tulad nang pagnanakaw mo sa Makati. ‘Yung mga mahihirap sa Pilipinas ay lalo pang hihirap. ‘Wag naman po sana. Maraming salamat,” he said.
(Vice President Binay, you said that you will do for the Philippines what you did in Makati. I hope not. The entire country will be in a story state if you will just steal from it the way you stole from Makati. Poor Filipinos will only become poorer. I hope this does not happen. Thank you!)
Roxas said the attacks against him are just Binay’s diversionary tactics to turn the spotlight away from his corruption allegations.
READ: Roxas cites scout’s law against Binay
“Siguro ito ‘yung dapat niyang ipaliwanag: Papaano nangyari na ang isang kama, hospital bed ito ah, para sa mga may sakit ito, government money ito, P35,000 ang isang hospital bed na sa Makati, P550,000 ang kanilang ibinayad. Siguro, ipaliwanag niya kung papano itong mga sterilizer na P16,000 ang bawat isa, P16,000 ang bawat sterilizer na umabot sa mahigit isang milyon ang binayad ng Makati. ‘Yan ang hinihingi, yan ang tinatanong ng mga kababayan natin,” said Roxas, in an apparent swipe to Binay’s wife, Elenita.
(Maybe this is what he has to explain: How did a hospital bed for the sick, which should only cost P35,000, was bought using government money for P550,000 each? Maybe, he should also explain how sterilizers worth P16,000 each cost the Makati government a million. That is what the people is asking him.)
Doctor Elenita Binay is also facing charges over the allegedly anomalous purchase of over P45-million worth of hospital beds and dry heat sterilizers in 2001 when she was still the mayor of Makati City.
On his second day of campaign in the vote-rich province, Roxas visited the factory of Giardiani del Sole which produces high-end furniture exported to Italy, United States and United Kingdom.
He promised the factory workers that he would generate more jobs if he gets elected so they could also afford to buy world-class furniture.
Giovanni Boschi, the Italian owner of the factory, told Roxas he’s sure the former Interior secretary is capable of continuing the gains of the current administration. IDL