‘Gov’t agencies out to malign Binays’

Joey Salgado. TWITTER PHOTO

Makati Mayor Junjun Binay’s camp on Friday dismissed the Ombudsman team of special investigators’ findings of probable cause against the mayor and his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, in connection with the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building as a “conspiracy” against the Binay family.

“We see the Senate, Ombudsman and other government agencies conspiring to malign the Binays, especially the Vice President, and we expect this to intensify as we get closer to 2016,” said Joey Salgado, the mayor’s spokesperson.

The Vice President is the only declared candidate so far for the 2016 presidential elections.

No comment

Salgado, who was also speaking for the senior Binay, said the Vice President would not want to comment until they have seen a copy of the Ombudsman panel’s findings.

Still, Salgado could not resist criticizing the Ombudsman who, he said, was “obviously grasping at straws.”

He said it was “not the job of the mayor to handle the publication of bidding notices,” in response to the panel’s finding that there was no publication of the bidding process for the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.

“The mayor has nothing to do with that. That is the job of the general services officer, not the mayor…. Clearly the intention is to again tarnish the name of the Binays because it’s survey season once again,” Salgado said.

‘Mere arguments’

The mayor’s lawyer, Claro Certeza, clarified that the statements contained in the 33-page document—which he said he received on Friday from the mayor’s staff—were “not of the Ombudsman but of the special panel of investigators which is contained in the consolidated reply which they (the panel) filed in the Ombudsman.”

“These are mere arguments which we will respond to once we file our position paper as directed by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has yet to decide on the case,” Certeza said.

He said they were given 10 days to file the position paper.

Until then, he said the mayor’s camp could not make a reaction to the allegations by the special panel of investigators as this “might violate the sub judice rule which prohibits the public discussion of the merits of the case.”

“We will file the position paper next week so you can see our arguments there,” Certeza said.