Binay camp hits back at Noy for corruption remark

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay hit back at President Aquino yesterday, saying he should not spare from criticism administration bets who failed to do good while in government.

Aquino took a swipe at Binay and other presidential candidates during his speech before the Filipino community in Rome Thursday, saying there is one candidate who has been accused of corruption for the longest time.

Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesman for political affairs, said Aquino’s latest jab could be interpreted as a signal to resume the demolition job against the Vice President. 

“We find it unfortunate that the President has forgotten his statement last year that Vice President Binay should be presumed innocent, a right accorded to all individuals under our Constitution,” Quicho said. 

Aquino urged voters to choose the right successor who will sustain the gains of his administration.

“There is one who, for the longest time, has been accused of amassing public funds. If the allegations against him were true, and this person really robbed the country, what do you think is left to finance the improvement of lives he’s promising?” Aquino said in Filipino, apparently referring to Binay.

Binay is facing five plunder and graft complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged corruption in various infrastructure projects implemented in Makati City during his stint as mayor. 

Quicho said they expect the attacks against Binay to continue as the presidential elections draw near. 

“We are bracing ourselves but we will not be deterred from talking to the people about the Vice President’s programs to address poverty, hunger and unemployment,” he said. 

He believes the President should not spare administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas, whom he said has held several positions in the past but failed to do his job. 

“An honest appraisal of all the presidential candidates should not exclude the administration candidate. He (Roxas) occupied several key positions in the Cabinet for the last five years yet, through his incompetence and inaction, only made situations worse,” he said. 

“The MRT is in a worse state now. Traffic is a daily hell for commuters and motorists. Licenses and car plates take forever. Billions in funds for local governments, water projects, developmental programs remain unreleased and trapped in a bureaucratic limbo of his own making,” Quicho said. 

He also cited the continued rise in criminality, unsolved killings of judges and journalists and the drug menace that has infected almost all barangays in the country under the present administration. 

“These are concrete issues that need concrete answers from the administration candidate. He is, after all, running on a platform of continuity. For ordinary citizens, this means continuing the insensitive and inefficient governance that has failed to address poverty, hunger and unemployment,” Quicho said. 

Roxas has served as secretary of transportation and communications and of the interior and local government.