No politicians in my Cabinet – Binay

MANILA, Philippines - Experts – not politicians – will comprise his Cabinet if he gets elected president in 2016, Vice President Jejomar Binay supposedly told a gathering of business executives yesterday.

“We shall make sure that all Cabinet officials are the best and brightest in their area of specialization, with vast experience in professional and public management, and guided mainly by competence, integrity and decisiveness. We shall bring in former Cabinet and senior government members,” Binay said in a speech he supposedly read at the Wallace Business Forum. The forum was closed to media.

It was Binay’s office that provided reporters copies of his speech.

But asked to clarify his statement that he did not intend to appoint politicians to his Cabinet, Binay said he made no such pronouncement.

“I did not say that. What I’ve been saying is that if I will get members of my Cabinet, these will be the people who have no more learning curves or first-timers. I will get those who are competent and proven successful,” Binay told reporters in Makati City.

The Office of the Vice President later pulled out press releases on the supposed exclusion of politicians from Binay’s Cabinet.

Also present at the business forum at the Makati Shangri-La were former Zambales congresswoman Milagros Magsaysay, former finance secretary Margarito Teves and former Candaba mayor Jerry Pelayo, all allies of detained former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Peter Wallace, founder of the Wallace Business Forum, said Binay had told them of his plan to appoint only Cabinet members with management expertise.

Wallace also commended Binay’s plan to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution as well as move for the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology. 

In his speech, Binay also vowed to strengthen partnerships between government and business, as well as boost infrastructure spending.

“We believe that our economic restrictions adversely affect the Philippines’ ability to attract more foreign direct investments. Therefore, at the start of a Binay administration, we will immediately push for amendments in the economic provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

He said accelerating infrastructure development would boost tourism and address traffic congestion.

Binay earlier claimed the Aquino administration has adopted underspending as a policy so it can have huge savings for disbursements in time for the campaign season.

The Vice President said the Philippines has plenty of tourism destinations which remain inaccessible due to poor road network and infrastructure as well as inadequate public transport.

“If I become president, my administration will hit the ground running to close the infrastructure gap as quickly as possible,” he told businessmen.

He said infrastructure spending should be at least five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through Public-Private Partnerships or PPP.

The country’s spending for infrastructure is 3.4 percent of the GDP in 2014, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.

Binay said he also plans to convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) and the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory Council (JELAC) “as often as necessary, but at least quarterly.”