Binay: Mar's bid for Aquino term extension 'selfish'

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday slammed the statement of Interior Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II to extend the term of President Aquino as "selfish."

Binay said the proposal put Aquino on the spot and made the object of criticisms, "which he doesn't deserve."

"It was a selfish proposal to begin with, motivated more by personal rather than national interest," Binay, who defeated Roxas in the 2010 vice presidential race, said in a statement.

Binay similarly called the idea a "politically-divisive sentiment" that dampens the President's respect for laws made through the administration of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, allowing only a single term for each head of state.

"President Aquino, through Secretary [Herminio] Coloma, has made known his sentiments on term extension. We must respect his decision," Binay said.

"Those who made the proposal don't know the President. He is a decent person who will not cling to power. He is a student of history, and he won't tarnish his mother's good name just to please some personalities," he added.

Binay has made known his plans to run for president in the 2016 national elections, posing a challenge to the ruling Liberal Party's likely endorsement of Roxas for the top post.

Binay, an opposition leader under the United Nationalist Alliance, has recently raised the possibility that he will be adopted by the Liberal Party.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, a Liberal Party stalwart, rejected Binay's claim and said that the group will support Roxas' possible bid for the presidency.

Roxas, however, has not openly expressed his plans for a higher political post in the coming polls. - with PNA