Binay denies pressuring COA on audit report

UNA Presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay   INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

CLARK, Pampanga—United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) standard bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is battling corruption allegations, Monday denied the claim of the Office of the Ombudsman that he had asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to delay the release of its special audit report on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall parking building until after the elections.

“You know if she were a witness, the Ombudsman has low credibility. She is used to not telling the truth,” Binay told reporters, referring to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.

Binay was reacting to a statement the other day by the Ombudsman quoting a “very reliable source” that the UNA presidential candidate had pleaded to a COA official to delay the release of the COA special audit report on the Makati parking building until after May 9.

The Ombudsman’s office issued the statement to belie UNA president and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco’s accusation that Morales had called a COA official to convince them to transmit to her office an “incomplete” special audit report on the controversial construction project.

In a statement on Sunday, Morales said the claim made by UNA was “a lie.”

“The press release from UNA is a lie. It was the COA that advised the Office of the Ombudsman months ago that the report was ready and that a copy will be transmitted to the Office by the end of January 2016,” the statement said.

The COA, however, failed to send the report in January. The COA then said it would transmit a copy on Feb. 22.

“Failing that as well, it again advised [that] it would transmit it on March 2,” the Ombudsman said.

The construction of the parking building began in 2007 during the term of Binay as mayor and was continued by his son, Erwin “Junjun” Binay, who succeeded him in 2010.

The younger Binay is already facing graft and falsification of public documents cases in the Sandiganbayan because of the alleged overprice. He has also been dismissed as mayor by the Ombudsman. Christine O. Avendaño