Binay: Noy allies in 'pork' scam should also be charged

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay said the government should pursue cases against all the officials implicated in the pork barrel scam and not only those from the opposition.

In a statement on Wednesday, Binay said those allied with the Aquino administration who had been embroiled into the controversy should be charged as well.

"If it stops with the filing of the plunder cases against three senators who are not political allies and confines itself to the (Janet) Napoles case, it will create the impression of being selective, and that political partisanship – not justice – is the sole motivation behind these charges," Binay said.

Binay is hoping that cases will also be filed against other officials mentioned in the Commission on Audit (COA) report released last year that found irregularities in the release of lawmakers' pork barrel funds to questionable non-government organizations.

He said the government should also act on the findings of the COA report the same way it did in the case involving businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

"The public would want no less than full accountability from its public officials. The rule of law must prevail regardless of stature or political affiliations," Binay said.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it will file plunder and other cases against Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr and other personalities in the scam.

Binay said the decision of the Ombudsman is a test of the "fairness and trustworthiness" of the Philippines' legal system.

"In the event that the Ombudsman denies the motions for reconsideration and proceeds with the filing before the Sandiganbayan, I am confident that our courts will accord the three senators their right to a fair trial as provided for by the Constitution," Binay said.

Binay, Enrile and Estrada are all members of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) political party. Revilla is from the Lakas-Christian and Muslims Democrats.

In the 2010 elections, Binay was the running mate of Estrada's father, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The UNA was a coalition of Estrada's Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Binay's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.