Binay blames media for being ‘one-sided’

Vice President Jojo Binay has come out blasting at the Aquino administration in a bid to divert public attention away from the corruption charges hounding him and his family.

The move might lead to his breakup with the President and his removal from the Cabinet.

Binay has criticized the Aquino II administration for allegedly mistreating former President Gloria and looking the other way on the issue of the alleged unexplained wealth of Director General Alan Purisima, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Everybody knows P-Noy is mistreating his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), because he’s getting back at her for the shabby treatment his family got from the former president.

After all, everybody knows the President is vindictive.

But why is Binay making public his sympathy towards GMA only now? He could have told P-Noy in private early on that his mistreatment of Gloria does not sit well with many Filipinos.

And why is the Vice President pointing an accusing finger at Purisima who, if charges of ill-gotten against him were true, would be a piker compared to him?

Purisima’s farmhouse on a 4.7-hectare farm in Nueva Ecija would dwarf the 350-hectare hacienda in Batangas complete with a man-made lagoon, a cock farm, air-conditioned piggery, orchids garden, and a maze garden patterned after the Kew Gardens in London and a big mansion, allegedly owned by Binay.

On the issue of GMA’s mistreatment, Binay has a point: GMA should be treated with deference on account of her being a former president and her current position as Pampanga representative.

But the President is not under fire for corruption; Binay is. And so Binay’s plaint against P-Noy is non sequitur or not an issue at all.

Purisima, on the other hand, faced the Senate committee investigating his alleged hidden wealth. He heeded the summons of the Senate and endured the scolding of senators to show he had nothing to hide.

Binay is using his lofty Office of the Vice President in refusing to heed the invitation. If he has nothing to hide, why should he not face the Senate like Purisima did?

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Binay has taken the media to task for reporting on the charges of unexplained wealth and plunder of Makati, saying media should air his side.

But whenever reporters ask him to comment on charges of corruption hurled against him by his former subordinates like former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, all the Vice President can say is “they’re hallucinating.”

Why should he blame the media when all he does is deny the allegations and let his spokespersons do the talking?

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The fight for Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and McKinley Hills, an expensive piece of real estate within the former Fort Bonifacio, is now a three-cornered fight among Makati City, Taguig City and Pateros.

The smallest and poorest town in Metro Manila known for its “balut” (unhatched egg) industry, stakes its claim based on documents which date as far back as 1891.

Former Pateros Vice Mayor Dominador Rosales Jr. said he has presented documents and land surveys to the Supreme Court showing that BGC and McKinley Hills fall under the town’s jurisdiction.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that BGC and McKinley Hills is under Makati City, but Taguig has asked the high court to reconsider its decision.