Binay camp twits Aquino over 2010 win: Respect people’s will

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Saturday slammed President Benigno Aquino III for saying the Philippines could have been a better country in the past years if Mar Roxas won the 2010 vice presidential race.

Binay’s spokersperson Rico Quicho said Aquino should respect the will of the Filipino people, noting that the electorate saw in the United Nationalist Alliance standard-bearer qualities of someone who was ready to be the next president.

“With all due respect, Mr. President, the results of the 2010 elections represented the will of the people. The people elected you to be their president and Jejomar Binay as their vice president. They saw in Vice President Binay the qualities of a servant leader who is ready and competent to perform the duties of a president. The will of the people is not something to regret, but to respect,” Quicho said in a statement.

Quicho was reacting to Aquino’s remarks in Cavite on Thursday that he was wondering how far the government could have gone if Roxas had been his partner since 2010.

The spokesperson defended Binay by trumpeting his achievements in the housing and migrant workers’ sectors, saying the Vice President received “unsolicited commendations” even from Aquino himself.

“He has been a team player despite being treated like a pariah by most members of the Cabinet who are also your party mates.  He chose to stay on and do his work until it was evident that the conspiracy to undermine him politically—hatched and implemented by Liberal Party and its allies—would not stop, even to the point of directly undermining the independence of government instrumentalities and independent institutions for your allies’ political interests and ambitions,” Quicho said.

“The Vice President is offering to the people his track record of performance and accomplishments as a local executive and vice president. All candidates must offer the same, including your candidate. The people should freely decide who among the candidates is the most competent and prepared to lead our nation and address the problems of poverty and hunger, which has worsened in the last five years. We submit that Vice President Jojo Binay is that kind of candidate,” he added.

Binay, who is now seeking the presidency, resigned from the Aquino Cabinet in June 2015 and declared himself opposition leader. He served as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and presidential adviser on affairs of overseas Filipino workers. RC