Makati power struggle rages

MANILA, Philippines - With the suspension of the Makati City treasurer, the payroll slips of about 8,000 city hall employees are on a standstill, Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña said yesterday.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Peña said he has submitted a letter to the Department of Finance regarding the issue.

“The department will appoint a new city treasurer. I am assuring everyone that the city treasurer will be under me,” he said.

However, the spokesman for suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. denied that the standoff is affecting the payroll of city hall workers.

“There is no payroll problem as claimed by Vice Mayor Peña. Vouchers are prepared in advance. Banks are honoring the existing arrangements with the city government,” Joey Salgado said.

Peña had earlier expressed confidence that the Land Bank of the Philippines would honor his signature on the vouchers, as per an advisory from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“We appeal to the DILG and Vice Mayor Peña to stop disrupting city operations. They should respect the temporary restraining order (TRO),” Salgado said.

But DILG Undersecretary Peter Irving Corvera maintained that Peña is the legal mayor of Makati as the CA has not invalidated his assumption into office.

Binay had earlier refused to hold any dialogue with Peña’s camp.

“We stand firm that with the TRO issued by the Court of Appeals (CA), there is no doubt that I am the legal mayor of Makati,” Binay told reporters.

Binay and Peña led separate flag-raising rites attended by their supporters last Monday.

Vice President Jejomar Binay advised his son to stay firm, saying “the law is on his side.”

“It’s sad because the CA had issued a TRO but they continue to defy it,” the elder Binay said when asked for comment on the Makati standoff.   – Mike Frialde, Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe