Dismissed Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. on Monday said his father Vice President Jejomar Binay would not be cowed by threats that he would be dismissed if he lost Monday’s elections.
In an interview at their residence after the vice president cast his ballot in nearby San Antonio National High School, Junjun was asked about the possibility of his father being put behind bars.
He said his father is not afraid because the corruption cases against his family have no basis.
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“Is there fear on my part? Eh taumbayan ang manghuhusga. Hindi naman tayo nagwalang hiya sa taumbayan. Kung patas ang eleksyon kailangang galangin natin ang resulta,” Junjun said.
(Is there fear on my part? The people are the ones deciding. We did not do the people wrong. If the election is fair, we will just respect the results.)
He said his father would not be cowed by jail threats because the vice president had been detained when he was a human rights lawyer during martial law.
“It’s all part of the campaign to smear the name of my father and the rest of my family. Kung kulong lang, hindi kayang takutin ang tatay ko. Maraming beses nakulong tatay ko nung martial law. Nung high school ako, nakulong father ko for a case that was politically motivated,” Junjun said.
(It’s all part of the campaign to smear the name of my father and the rest of my family. If it’s just imprisonment, my father cannot be intimidated. He was imprisoned several times during martial law. When I was in high school, he was imprisoned for a case that was politically motivated.)
He said the vice president did not seek the presidency to be immune from possible corruption charges against him when his immunity expires at the end of his term.
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“Alam niyo naman, sa pulitika, kanya-kanyang batuhan ng issue, kanya-kanyang takutan. Pero kami, naniniwala kami, kumpiyansa kami na walang batayan ang kasong ito,” Junjun said.
(You know in politics, different camps hurl issues, different camps intimidate. But we are confident that this case has no basis.)
“Itong eleksyon na ito, hindi tungkol sa amin, ito ay laban ng mga mahihirap nating kababayan (This case is not about us, it’s the fight of our poor countrymen.),” he added.
Vice President Binay and Junjun were indicted by the Ombudsman for graft, malversation and falsification of public documents for purportedly rigging the allegedly overpriced Makati car park building.
The Ombudsman said it would file charges against the vice president at the end of his term.
His son Junjun is facing graft and falsification charges before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged car park overprice.
He was also ousted as Makati mayor in 2015 for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty over his supposed role in the car park overprice.
The Binays were also subject of a Senate investigation over alleged kickbacks from overpriced deals in Makati when they were mayor.
Earlier, the vice president and Junjun voted at the San Antonio National Highschool around 6 a.m. IDL/rga