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Updated 5:31 p.m.
They have decided to finally put behind their differences but Senator Nancy Binay said the cases that her family has filed against opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV would stay.
Unknown to many, Binay and Trillanes sat down and talked for an hour at the Senate lounge before Congress went on recess on March 14.
Binay said it was Trillanes who initiated the meeting.
“Nag-explain lang sya kung saan sya nanggagaling,” she said in an interview with Senate reporters on Thursday.
(He explained where he’s coming from.)
While she could not recall Trillanes saying sorry to her, Binay said the latter acknowledged that she was hurt by his allegations against her family.
“Sabi nya, hindi naman daw nya miaalis na kapamilya ko yung tinira nya so naiitindihan din nya yung feelings ko e hindi maganda towards him,” Binay said.
(He said he can’t take away the fact that he was attacking my family and he understood my unpleasant feelings toward him.)
“Nakikinig lang ako sa kanya…Collegial body kami, ang hirap kaya ng feeling na naglalakad ka sa hallway tapos kunwari ang hirap magpanggap na wala kang nakikita pero may tao talagang nakakasalubong. Di ba ang hirap ng ganung scenario?”
(I was just listening to him…we’re a collegial body. It’s an uncomfortable feeling to pretend you don’t see anyone while walking along the hallway.)
In 2015, Trillanes initiated a Senate probe on corruption allegations against Binay’s father and brother — former Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, respectively.
Since then, Senator Binay said she and Trillanes had stopped talking and avoided each other when they are at the Senate.
READ: Nancy Binay says making amends to Trillanes still a big challenge
Keeping the peace
She said she accepted Trillanes’ explanation just “to keep the peace” at the session hall.
“I’ve moved on,” Senator Binay said when asked if she has forgiven Trillanes.
Asked about the cases that her family had filed against Trillanes, Senator Binay said: “Syempre tuloy lahat yun (Of course these would all push through).”
‘Very pleasant conversation’
Trillanes, in a text message, said he and Senator Binay had a “very pleasant conversation.”
“I never had anything against her personally but I just respected her space all this time because I had a very bitter political feud with her father, VP Binay, a few years ago,” he said.
“But, just to be clear, we didn’t talk about the cases of her father and the libel cases they filed against me,” Trillanes added./ac
READ: DOJ files libel case vs Trillanes