MANILA, Philippines (Eagle News Service) — Vice-President Jejomar Binay snubbed anew the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s probe on the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building II, saying he wanted to avoid setting a bad precedent.
Binay, instead sent two representatives – his lawyer, Atty. JV Bautista, and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco – to the senate hearing Thursday, Nov. 6, to the dismay of the senators in the committee. The Vice-President decided to fly to Cebu instead to attend to other matters.
Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III said Binay’s snub of the senate hearing was a lost chance for him to present his side to the public.
Binay allegedly felt that the Senate committee would not be fair in its investigation and he would be subjected to allegedly unfair treatment by the investigating senators.
In his statement, Binay stressed that if he attended the senate hearing, this would set a precedent that would force any other Vice-President to attend senate hearings, even if there are questions on the senators’ impartiality.
Binay’s lawyer, Atty. Bautista, cited the action of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano who had earlier barred them from speaking in an earlier senate hearing on the matter.
Both Bautista and Tiangco were barred by Sen. Cayetano from speaking for Binay at the October 30 hearing of the Senate, saying they were not allegedly invited as resource persons or witnesses.
They said this action showed that the senator had already pre-judged the case and was not anymore impartial.
Tiangco, for his part, admitted that he had convinced Binay not to show up anymore in the senate hearing, as he compared the senate probe to a circus act.
Bautista and Tiangco were prevented from reading Binay’s statement during the Senate hearing. They instead read the statement to the members of the press.
