MANILA, Philippines - The plunder and graft cases filed by a classmate of Makati City Rep. Abby Binay against Sen. Alan. Peter Cayetano and his wife, Taguig City mayor Lani Cayetano, is politically motivated, an ally of the Cayetanos said on Wednesday.
Taguig City councilor Darwin Icay said the motive of lawyer Roderick Vera in filing the criminal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman is to distract the public attention from the ongoing probe on overpriced Makati City parking building.
“Any citizen has a right to file charges but the politics in this is clear – Atty. Vera is a law school classmate of Cong. Abby Binay and this is a law firm with close ties to VIce President Jejomar Binay. The organization was also used as a shadow organization that attacked Secretary Mar Roxas during the Delfin Lee arrest. Their agenda is clear, make up bogus charges and distract from the ongoing investigation on the Binay’s corruption involving the Makati parking building. These are purely lies based on maliciously distorted facts," Icay said in a statement.
“The allegations are simply not true and this was clearly just meant to distract people from the Binay’s corruption hearing later today. We purchased new ambulances and emergency response vehicles as a long term investment in the city. These new ambulances last longer, are safer, and retain their value for longer," he added.
Vera earlier filed the charges against the Cayetano couple for the alleged overpriced purchase of 18 multi-cabs, at $11,381 each, using the senator's P9-million priority development assistance fund in 2012.
“The City of Taguig made a smart investment in these new ambulances and emergency response vehicles – they will help. Contrary to Mayor Binay's claim, these vehicles were not refurbished. We’re making a lot of smart investments to build for the future, including free education, medicine for our seniors and families, and creating jobs," Icay said.
He said the Commission on Audit itself had no questions on the purchase of 18 brand new mini-ambulances and firetrucks in the city of Taguig, a project funded by Senator Cayetano's PDAF.
“We're proud of these efforts to offer free education, quality health care, and create jobs in Taguig - and in large part, this work was made possible by our efforts to reduce corruption. That’s one of our core values in Taguig - 'pag bawal ang corrupt, bigay todo ang biyaya. We’ll address any questions from the Binay front group, and hope that they are honest with the Filipino people about their connections to Binay, and their agenda," Icay said.
"The Binay camp is free to check the figures released by the COA in their reports. Instead, they distort these facts and figures to mislead the public and destroy the reputation of the Cayetanos," Icay added.