Binay asks CA to stop probe on ‘ghost’ employees

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the Office of the President (OP) and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita from conducting proceedings on the administrative complaint filed against him by his political rival Roberto Brillante involving alleged "ghost employees" at the Makati City Hall.

In a 20-page petition, Binay asked the CA to require Ermita to issue a bill of particulars on the complaint filed by Brillante against him to enable him to give an "intelligent answer to the complaint."

He said Malacañang is bent on slapping him with an indefinite suspension like what it has done to his other colleagues in the opposition, such as Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad.

Trinidad claimed that his suspension was part of the administration’s harassment against opposition leaders to weaken their chances in the elections next year.

Binay said he is ready to post a bond that the CA may set.

He explained that the rules governing administrative proceedings requires that within 48 hours from receipt of the answer, the disciplining authority shall refer the complaint and the answer, together with their attachments and other relevant papers, to the investigating authority who shall commence the investigation within 10 days.

"Obviously, none of these time frames were complied with. At least, the petitioner has not been informed of any such compliance on this matter," Binay said.

The mayor also stressed that the right to be informed of the basis of a complaint is an essential element of due process.

"The petitioner in this instance must be informed of the cause of why he is being accused of an administrative culpability. As earlier explained, a complaint that merely said some of the 500 or 600 or so employees are ghost employees does not allege enough to allow the petitioner and his co-respondents to intelligently prepare their answer," he added.