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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Binay slams ‘demolition job’

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PRESIDENTIAL bet Jejomar Binay on Friday tagged Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales as part of a  conspiracy to thwart his presidential bid by prematurely releasing an incomplete Commission on Audit report on the alleged overpriced Makati building during his stint as mayor.

He accused Carpio-Morales of doing a “demolition job” against him a week before the presidential debate that will tackle corruption among other issues.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales

Binay made his statement even as the United Nationalist Alliance, his party, on Friday described the CoA’s special audit report as politically motivated for ignoring to release the 2008 to 2014 CoA report that concluded that there was no overpricing in the construction of Makati City Hall Building 2.

UNA president Toby Tiangco said those audit reports spanning six years were now being set aside by CoA’s supposed special audit that was concluded after only several months.

“These CoA reports, including the one conducted by the agency’s own technical experts, are now being ignored in favor of a fast-tracked supposed special audit report that is tainted by political motives,” Tiangco said.

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Meanwhile, the second round of the Commission on Elections-sponsored presidential debate, in partnership with TV5 and Philippine Star, will be held in UP-Lahug in Cebu on March 20.

“As usual, talagang ang Ombudsman ay kasama sa conspiracy ng paninira. They jumped the gun again. Bale ba naman, the usual thing. Palibhasa, malapit na ang debate. Ito ay siraan na naman,” Binay told reporters in an ambush interview in Rosario, Pangasinan.

Biggest problem. Noting the 18.5-percent poverty incidence rate in La Union, United Nationalist Alliance presidential bet Jejomar  Binay said poverty is the main problem that the country faces. Makati’s poverty incidence went down from 3.74 percent in 2000 to 0.5 percent in 2012, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

 

Binay said Carpio-Morales had been pressuring CoA to fast-track the report and was calling the agency since January to take heed.

Binay earlier tagged Roxas and his allies as being behind Oplan Nognog that was hatched to bring down Binay through a probe spearheaded by the Liberals and their allies in the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, headed by LP stalwart Teofisto Guingona III, who is running for reelection.

    Binay said he believed Carpio-Morales was only using the special audit report as a tool to mount a “demolition job by perception” or trial by publicity against him.

    Carpio-Morales, he said, would not even dare proceed with the filing of charges against him since the Ombudsman earlier acknowledged that the vice president was “immune from suit.”

    “Alam mo, isang malungkot pa riyan, itong si Ombudsman, alam naman niya na immune ako from suit pero sinama niya pa ako sa preliminary investigation. Tingnan mo na lang anong klase ng treatment ang ginagawa sa akin. Ang arrest ay nagsisimula lamang ‘pag napunta sa husgado. Hindi naman ako ihahabla nito sa husgado. Admitted naman sila roon,” Binay said.

    He complained of being denied due process since the special report was leaked to the media without him, his son and namesake dismissed Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. having seen the report.

    In fact, he insisted, the Ombudsman and COA had violated many procedures just to pin him down.

    He said he and his son had yet to submit their reply to the allegations and that they were not even given the chance to see the report or submit a motion for reconsideration should there be irregularities in the report.

    Binay said the Ombudsman was aware that the Makati Building project passed 11 regular audits in a span of six years, but that these were ignored by COA’s special audit that spanned only a few months, prompting UNA to accuse the special audit team as a “special demolition team” against him.

    “This project has passed 11 regular audits.    It is very clear that special audit team was created for the “special” purpose of being used as demolition team against VP Binay,” Tiangco said.

    Tiangco said the COA produced the special audit report after the Ombudsman made calls to the agency pressuring the release of the “incomplete” special report.

    “It’s not the finished product,” Binay said. 

    “It is sad. Bukod pa riyan, ‘yong COA na ‘yon, napakaraming beses na sinabing walang irregularity. Suddenly, meron nang allegation na hindi naman namin alam kasi hindi pa kami nakakatanggap ng report na ‘yon kasi sasagot pa lang kami sa report na ‘yon.” 

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