Binay ally: New plunder suit vs VP a nuisance

MANILA, Philippines - A spokesman dismissed yesterday the latest plunder complaint against Vice President Jejomar Binay as another “nuisance suit.”

Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesman for political affairs, said the complaint filed by lawyer Renato Bondal pertains to the so-called “Meriras Property,” which the Binay camp insists was owned by the Chong family and Meriras Corp.

Meriras is a combination of the surnames “Mercado” and “Irasga” of former Makati City vice mayor Ernesto Mercado and former Makati engineer Nelson Irasga.

“We all know that Bondal and Mercado are the indefatigable sources of trumped up charges against the Vice President. This is but another charge that has been bought and paid for,” Quicho said.

Bondal, one of the witnesses testifying before the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee on the corruption allegations against Binay, claimed the Vice President used Meriras to hide ownership of the property.

Contrary to Bondal’s claims, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared the acquisition of the Meriras lot as valid and legal more than a decade ago, Quicho alleged.

“Clearly, Mr. Bondal is merely fabricating (the) charge,” he added.

Quicho stressed that the Chong family testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings that they exclusively dealt with Mercado on the Meriras property and that they never had any transaction with Binay.

He added that Mercado himself acknowledged that the Chongs are legitimate businessmen.

He also said it was unfortunate that the Chong family is dragged into the demolition job against Binay and are being portrayed as criminals “when their only fault is dealing with Mercado.”