Makati court OKs Binay’s damage suit vs Cayetano, Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 133 has found valid cause in the P200-million damage suit filed by Vice President Jejomar Binay against Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV and several others.

In a 40-page omnibus order dated Jan. 5, 2016 issued by Judge Elpidio Calis, the court ruled that Binay’s complaint states a cause of action against the defendants and for this reason the move to dismiss the charges was denied.

The court ruled that the grounds relied upon by the defendants to dismiss the case are improper.

Binay had lodged a P200-million damage suit against Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee members Cayetano and Trillanes, and against former Makati City officials Ernesto Mercado and Mario Hechanova, Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, Renato Bondal and Nicolas Enciso.

Also included in the suit are Anti-Money laundering Council (AMLC) officials Amando Tetangco Jr., Emmanuel Dooc, Teresita Herbosa and Julia Abad, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, for allegedly conspiring to destroy his reputation and consequently, to derail his presidential bid.

Binay alleged in his complaint that Erice is the group’s talking head, while Mercado, Hechanova, Bondal and Enciso acted as paid witnesses who concocted charges of corruption against him and his family.

Trillanes and Cayetano provided the venue to air these false charges.

On the other hand, Ombudsman Morales and the AMLC officials were alleged to have provided the veneer of truth to the lies by entertaining the unsubstantiated complaints against Binay without observing due process.

The Inquirer, meanwhile, was accused by Binay of acting as the “biased media outlet” that relentlessly bombarded the public with lies and innuendo spewed by the paid witnesses concerning his integrity, through malicious and slanted reports.

In their defense, the defendants in the damage suit filed Answers with Special and Affirmative Defenses, Motions to Dismiss and Comments stating that Binay’s complaint does not state a cause of action against them. – With Edu Punay