EDITORIAL - It is now like Binay or the virus -- who survives?

Everything that has been exposed at the Senate about Vice President Jejomar Binay is probably true. Or at least most of it anyway. Clearly there is a concerted effort to bring down Binay, and those involved in the effort, given the high positions they occupy, and the even higher positions they aspire for, cannot afford to be wishy-washy with what they are exposing.

As to whether Binay is, as they say in the business, already damaged goods is hard to say. At the very least, it is still too early to tell. But he is not emerging from this imbroglio unscathed. Already there are surveys that indicate his plummeting numbers, even if, on the other hand, the same surveys say his trust ratings continue to put him head and shoulders over other political personalities.

This enigma is easy to explain, though. Binay has largely escaped unscathed in the sectors where he is strongest. And Binay knows this very well. Whenever there are issues that clearly he needs to answer, Binay instead hies off to some far-flung province in the country to hob-nob with the sectors that catapulted him to the vice presidency. There he continues to scratch their backs and soften their bellies.

Whether this would eventually be enough to catapult him once again, this time to a position coveted by others, a position that is the primary reason for all the efforts to bring him down, will have to wait until the ballots are in and counted. And that is still a good year and several months away. In the meantime, Binay will have to learn to bear with the relentless attacks, whether by ignoring them or confronting them squarely.

But Binay is not going to confront the issues squarely, for the simple reason that, again, many of them are probably true. Binay will probably just continue with the tack of daring his detractors to file the appropriate charges in court, which is the proper forum for the charges, instead of in the Senate, which has clearly allowed itself to be used for political purposes.

But while Binay is actually right that the Senate is not the proper forum for the issues against him and, more importantly, has allowed itself to be used for the ulterior motives of some, it would be naive of Binay to think that he will continue to be the strong candidate for president that he used to be. Whether or not Binay pulls through, it will no longer be smooth sailing for him.

It is difficult to agree with the methods used to bring down Binay. They are patently wrong and immortal. But there is also no overlooking the fact that what have been exposed has exposed Binay in a very unflattering light. There is now so much about his person that can make people think twice about whether this should be the next president of the Philippines. If we liken his situation to a health issue, Binay is now afflicted with a self-limiting disease -- its either him or the virus.