Nancy Binay: Impeachment the proper forum, not debate with Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Nancy Binay won't let his father engage in a public debate with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who have accused their family of accumulating ill-gotten wealth.

Speaking to the media after a birthday mass for Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday, the senator said she disagrees with his father's challenge to her colleague.

"Why should he stoop down to the level of Senator Trillanes?" she said.

The younger Binay believes that the allegations made against his father should be tackled in the proper forum.

"For me, the proper venue pa rin is the court. Kung may mga alegasyon, bakit hindi sila magsampa ng kaso?" Binay said.

"Yung ating Vice President is an impeachable officer so kung meron silang nakikitang grounds for impeachment, bakit hanggang ngayon ay wala pa ring nagpa-file laban sa kanya?" she added.

The senator said they expect the so-called demolition job against her father to continue, with more allegations to possibly surface.

"Binigyan na kami ng warning ng ating vice president na may bagyong darating sa pamilya namin. So more or less, parang we have prepared," she said.

"Talagang iisa-isahin kami kaya nga hindi ako magtataka kung pagdating ng 2015, baka pati yung mga anak ko, mga pamangkin ko kasama na rin sa bibigyan ng mga alegasyon," she added.

The vice president is being investigated by Trillanes' Senate Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee in connection with the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall II parking building.

The older Binay has also been accused of profiting from other city projects and of using dummies to conceal his ill-gotten wealth such as the 350-hectare property in Batangas.

The vice president has refused to face the Senate probe but he challenged Trillanes to a debate.

In a statement on Friday, Trillanes said the evidence and other documents gathered by the Senate Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee regarding the Makati parking building have been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman as early as September.

"It has already started its own fact-finding investigation on the matter. Therefore, the ongoing Senate investigation is not, in any way, delaying the cases filed with the Ombudsman," Trillanes said.

"Moreover, the focus has now shifted to other anomalies committed by former and current city hall officials of Makati, hence, the need to continue with the investigation," he added. -Louis Bacani