Binay confident plunder, graft cases will be dismissed

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay is confident that the plunder complaint and graft charges filed against him with the Office of the Ombudsman will be dismissed.

“He is confident the charges against him will be dismissed because the truth is on his side. The sentiments of the people are with him,” Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, spokesman for Binay, said Thursday.

Binay is not hurting from the accusations thrown at him by his political enemies, Remulla said.

The Vice President had presented himself to the people in a live televised address instead of facing the Senate investigation on the alleged overpriced Makati City parking building project.

“Facing the people and explaining to them the issues is more important to him than to face the Senate probe,” Remulla said.

In response to Binay’s televised address, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said that having experienced poverty does not justify corruption.

In his speech, delivered in front of his supporters at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, Binay highlighted his humble roots in an effort to rally support from the public.

“Nobody is saying that the programs in Makati are not good, and I believe the entire country wants to see good projects. But is it correct to say that you can steal billions, you can allow overpricing and kickbacks, as long as you are from a poor background and you were orphaned?” Cayetano said.

“I don’t think it’s right to say that just because you were once poor you can enrich yourself by stealing. There are a lot of poor people who worked hard and became rich,” he added.

The senator noted that former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado and Mario Hechanova, the city’s former general services department head, have testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that Binay had pocketed kickbacks from projects implemented by the city government during his term as mayor.

Cayetano disputed the claim of Binay that there was no evidence of overpricing in the parking building at the Makati City Hall.

He said the testimonies of former city officials are enough evidence that the bidding for the project was rigged.

“Where in the world would you find any document that indicates a bidding was rigged?” Cayetano said.

“Everyone in the world but him knows that the building is overpriced,” he added.– With Marvin Sy