Sen. Nancy Binay INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
See you in court again.
This was the message of Sen. Nancy Binay on Tuesday when asked for her reaction on the Philippine Daily Inquirer report which quoted the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in alleging that Vice President Jejomar Binay kept billions of pesos in dummy bank accounts.
“I just have one message for the Inquirer: see you in court again,” Sen. Binay told reporters in an interview in Candon, Ilocos Sur, where her father is holding a campaign sortie for his presidential bid in the May 9 elections.
The Binay camp earlier filed a P200 million damage suit against the Inquirer, Binay’s staunchest critics Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Amado Tetangco Jr., and several others over allegations that Binay accumulated ill-gotten wealth when he was Makati mayor for 20 years.
Sen. Binay said the camp earlier secured a victory in the damage suit when the Makati Regional Trial Court gave the green light for the trial to proceed.
“In fact, yung previous na na-file laban sa Inquirer gumugulong na. Pinayagan na ng korte na magsimula na yung paglilitis, kaya nga see you in court again, Inquirer,” Sen. Binay said.
Sen. Binay said the Inquirer played a key role in the demolition job against her father.
“Kasi kitang-kita ninyo naman, for the past year, napakalaking papel ang ginampanan ng Inquirer dun sa paninira laban sa pamilya ko. Sabi ko nga, siguro kung ang nangyari for the day gumuho ang Pilipinas, baka kami pa rin ang istorya sa Inquirer, yung paninira pa din,” she added.
She said because the Inquirer published more than 30 stories smearing the name of her family, it is obvious the Inquirer is part of the alleged move to derail the presidential bid of her father.
“Kasi if you recall, last year, I think naka more than 30 headlines against my family, ginawa ng Inquirer. Sobrang obvious na nagagamit ngayon ang Inquirer dun sa Oplan Stop Nognog. Kitang-kita naman natin, paulit-ulit, itong lumabas ngayon,” she said.
Sen. Binay said the latest Inquirer report which cited an AMLC report is a rehashed story of the previous bank inquiry findings.
“It’s a rehashed story. They’re making it appear na may bagong AMLC report when there’s none. Talagang it’s a demolition job against the vice president,” she said.
READ: AMLC: Binay got billions
Binay’s spokesperson Atty. Rico Quicho earlier refuted reports about the AMLC and said Binay’s frozen accounts only contained P1.7 million and not billions “wrongly and maliciously reported” in the media.
“As a sign of good faith, the vice president voluntarily manifested before the court that he will not touch the said account for the duration of the case, which I am confident will eventually be dismissed,” Quicho said.
The AMLC in the Inquirer report said Binay used the funds stashed away in joint accounts with alleged dummies–which he purportedly earned from the allegedly overpriced Makati car park building, Makati Science High School building, and cakes for senior citizens–to finance his 2010 vice presidential bid.
The AMLC earlier said Binay had 242 joint accounts with his alleged dummies, which kept P11 billion since 2008.
The AMLC report, according to the Inquirer, said the subject accounts, especially those of Binay, and joint accounts of Gerado Limlingan Jr., Sedillo Portollano and Eduviges Baloloy showed “multiple large transactions amounting to billions of pesos coinciding with the period of construction of the New Makati Parking Building 11 and Makati Science High School, and the Joint Venture agreement with Boy Scouts.”
“They used a complicated and sophisticated system of layering funds, including the opening of multiple bank accounts under the names of close and trusted associates and entities whose officers and directors are the very same persons, and high value and frequent transactions under the control and direction of the beneficial owner, VP Binay,” the AMLC in the Inquirer report said.
The Inquirer was able to obtain a copy of the 62-page AMLC report, which was the result of the Ombudsman investigations on alleged irregularities in the construction of the purportedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II and Makati Science High School when Binay was mayor. JE