Roxas: VP Binay an expert on graft, corruption

Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas called rival Vice President Jejomar Binay an “expert” in graft and corruption for using his “personal experience” in explaining the nuance between the two words.

“It’s a good thing that he (Binay) explained the difference between graft and corruption because he is an expert on it. He probably has personal experience on it that’s why he knows the difference,” said Roxas in an interview with reporters shortly after the inauguration of St. Joseph Ville, a low-rise community built by San Juan City and the National Housing Authority.

READ: Roxas says Binay ‘an expert’ on graft, corruption

At a student forum in Dumaguete City on Tuesday, Binay said that graft was the abusive use of power while corruption was about mishandling money.

The Roxas camp believes that Binay, who has been accused accumulating ill-gotten wealth during his family’s nearly 30-year reign in Makati, is the man to beat in the 2016 elections even as Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe are leading the pack based on surveys.

Roxas said plundering the people’s money was a sin against God and he would make sure corrupt public officials would rot in jail if he won as President next year.

Personal business

“I’m not trying to single out anybody but I do consider it my personal business not to allow individuals to steal the people’s money,” he said.

Aside from Binay, Roxas also turned his sights on Duterte’s claim that he would hold weekly killings to solve criminality if he won as President.

“What is this? Who ever has the guns will prevail? We will go back to the dark ages and I will fight against this,” said Roxas.

He said he does not support the return of the death penalty because he believed that the certainty of arrest and not the maximum penalty was the biggest deterrent to crime.

Roxas represented President Aquino during the inauguration of the St. Joseph Ville.

“I’m proud of this project which started during my time as interior secretary. This is proof that ‘daang matuwid’ (straight path) delivers true public service,” said Roxas.

The St. Joseph Ville has six low-rise condominiums with a total of 348 units built on a former Nawasa lot in front of the San Juan City Hall. The area was a former shantytown which was razed to ground in December 2012.

Roxas was “game” throughout the event event although he admitted that officials of the city were supporting other presidential bets—San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez and son Sen. JV Ejercito were supporting Binay while Vice Mayor Francis Zamora, who was absent during the event, was supporting Poe.