The other side

Vice President Jojo Binay through his lawyers, Attorneys Martin C. Subido and Princesita P. Turgano sent an e-mail refuting some of the points I raised in my column last Monday, September 29, 2014 entitled “Fake Democracy” concerning his alleged involvement in some anomalies while he was Mayor of Makati City. In the spirit of fairness, let me reproduce pertinent portions of said letter.

“In the column of Atty. Sison, it was stated that “if any poor man wants to get rich quick in this country, all he has to do is to join the government” and the best example cited by the column is “Vice President Jojo Binay himself.” It was further stated in the column that, “Binay proudly proclaimed that nanggaling siya sa kahirapan,” but “he is definitely not mahirap anymore.” To say the least, the column makes light of the Vice President’s life struggle to be where he is right now and worse, it insinuates that whatever financial successes he currently enjoys is the result of some illegal acts.

At the onset, it must be noted that the life experiences of the Vice President has provided him with the necessary empathy for the poor and the ordinary people representing a majority of our countrymen. Hence, as a public servant, his goal has always been to provide basic services for the poor, the ordinary people, and the senior citizens in terms of healthcare, education, and social services.  This is the main reason why the Vice President takes pride in saying – “nanggaling siya sa kahirapan.”

With respect to his current net worth, as borne by his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and Income Tax Return (ITR) that span for almost three (3) decades, the assets of the Vice President are fully justified by his life-long earnings as a lawyer, public servant and businessman, all of which were fully disclosed and reported with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the proper taxes being duly paid. Even independent SALN experts attest to this fact.

Next, the column Atty. Sison further claims that the Vice President is not “mahirap” because the Vice Presidency “can be attained only by spending millions or even billions of pesos in campaign expenses.”

In this regard, it bears noting that the Vice President did not solely spend personal money relating to the May 2010 Elections. As shown by his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures, more than 600 donors coming from various sectors of society contributed to the campaign of the Vice President.  Moreover, the Vice President could not have spent “billions of pesos” as alleged in the column considering that this amount is substantially over the limit on campaign expenses set by law.  The absence of any proceedings before the Commission on Elections for violation of the Omnibus Election Code on “overspending” against the Vice President is a clear indication that such is not the case.

Finally, we wish to correct the mistaken notion conveyed in the column that there are allegedly “clear, positive, straight-forward and direct testimonies” made against the Vice President and his family in the on-going inquiry on the Sub-Committee of the Senate Blue Ribbon relative to Senate Resolution No. 826 (the “Sub-Committee”, and that these testimonies are allegedly credible evidence.

Suffice to state that the statements made before the Sub-Committee against the Vice President are self-serving and inadmissible before the Courts.

Self-serving evidence is evidence made by a party out of Court at one time.  It is excluded on the same ground as any hearsay evidence, i.e., the lack of opportunity for cross-examination by the adverse party, and on the consideration that its admission would open the door to fraud and to fabrication of testimony. [See National Development Company vs. Workmen’s Compensation Commission, G.R. No. L-21724, April 27, 1967].

Similarly inadmissible as hearsay evidence are the accusations made against the Vice President that are based on the purported statements of the late Engr. Nelson Morales, a deceased person who naturally cannot contest the statements being imputed to him by the accusers of the Vice President nor can be subjected to cross-examination by the latter. [See Ortigas Jr. vs. Lufthansa German Airlines, 64 SCRA 610 1975].

In the light of the above, a Jurisdictional Challenge has been filed before the Blue Ribbon Committee challenging the jurisdiction of the Sub-Committee to continue with the current inquiry.  It is the position of the Vice President that the inquiry is not in aid of legislation but one that is calculated to malign his name and character.  In utter violation of the Bill of Rights, the inquiry is being done to elicit condemnatory evidence and solicit perjured statements by offering immediate admission to the Witness Protection Program as a reward to parties who will conjure false charges against the Vice President. But we all know that a person’s guilt or innocence is not established before the Senate – it is a matter for the Courts to decide. In Court, a person is presumed innocent until his guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. Also, in Court, rules are clearly established to protect the rights of the complainant and the accused especially against perjured statements. These are the basic foundations of all democratic and civilized countries.  Using the revered halls of the Senate for “trial by publicity” is not only a great disrespect to the institution but also serves as a “chilling effect” against innocent parties who may incur the ire of its members as it can be used as a forum to malign, castigate, insult and/or humiliate them.”

Let me just point out in this regard and as a friendly advice to VP Binay, that the direct and straightforward testimonies in the Senate investigation are made under oath and subjected to the cross questionings of the Senators, out of the own personal knowledge of the witnesses. Only some of them are based on the statements of a dead person. So it cannot be said that they are hearsay evidence. And perhaps to resolve the issue of whether they are self-serving or not, VP Binay should challenge his accusers to file the necessary action in court.

VP Binay should bear in mind that right now, he is already being tried before the bar of public opinion and not in a court of justice. So he should not be so concerned about the Rules of Court but more about showing to the people the whole truth instead of just branding these testimonies as mere recyclable lies.

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