THE DEMOLITION OF JEJOMAR BINAY

By Manny Pinol

There is no doubt that the current probe into the lives of Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family is a demolition job following his very early public declaration that he will vie for the Presidency of the country.

There is also no doubt that the filth being dug up in the backyard of Makati’s top political family is hurting VP Binay and early indications show that his chances of becoming President of the Philippines are getting dimmer everyday.

From being the presidential frontrunner, the Vice President now finds himself slowly and steadily sinking in the quicksand of adverse public opinion.

What went wrong?

A demolition job is par for the course for those involved in politics.

Almost every politician goes through this crucible. Surviving it all depends on the believability of the demolition story, the credibility of the witnesses and the ability of the accused to confront the issues and put forward an acceptable and logical defense.

When I vied for the Governorship of North Cotabato in 1998, my political opponent publicly accused me of using drugs.

I still smoked and drank like a fish at that time but I was never into drugs. The closest I got to drugs was puffing a few rolls of marijuana when I was young but it was just for kicks and I never got the feel of it.

When I heard of the issue, I confronted it right away by issuing a public challenge where I dared my political opponent to enter into a deal with me.

I declared I was willing to undergo a drug test to be conducted by competent authorities and if it was proven that I was into drugs, I would quit the race right away.

The other side of the dare was that if it would be proven that I was not using drugs, my political opponent would have to quit the political race immediately.

My political opponent did not bite the dare and that ended the issue.

In Vice President Binay’s case, however, the issue that he received kickbacks from all transactions in the Makati City Hall when he was mayor, especially in the controversial Makati Building II keeps on hounding him because of several reasons:

1. The people making the accusations, who could possibly be working for the political interests of VP Binay’s still unnamed competitor for the Presidency, seem credible because they used to be Binay’s men when he was still mayor of Makati.

2. Respectable witnesses came forward to corroborate the accusers’ testimonies, like the fire equipment supply bidder who was “jailed” in the elevator to prevent him from submitting his bid and the president of the construction company who said his company, which was listed as one of the bidders in the Makati Building II, never participated in the bidding.

3. The inconsistent lines of defense issued by VP Binay’s spokesman and lawyers who initially admitted that there was indeed rigging of contracts in the Makati City Hall when he was Mayor but that it was the principal accuser, former Vice Mayor and self-confessed Binay bagman Ernesto Mercado, along with several others who was behind it. They reversed gears when they realized that it would boomerang on the former mayor as it would show incompetence in running his office and in stamping out corruption.

4. Vice President Binay failed to confront the issues head-on opting instead to play dramatics recounting his rags to riches story and seeking compassion from the public by saying that the rich businessmen are ganging up on him because they do not like a poor boy from the province to become President.

His very lame excuses that the accusations are recycled lies and that he is being vilified because he is the frontrunner in the soon to start presidential derby totally miss the target.

Binay’s statement that the evidence presented in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing will not stand in court and is considered hearsay signifies that he has ran out of reasons.

An innocent man would be willing to confront his accusers before any court, including the Senate hearing.

People were expecting the Vice President to rush to the Senate to confront his accusers and shouting invectives like: “Mga putang-ina nyo, mga sinungaling. Eto ang totoo, nandito ang mga bankbooks ko at ang aking mga ari-arian. Hindi ako nagnakaw sa kaban ng bayan!”

The expletives would have been understandable because these are expected to come from a righteous man wrongfully persecuted and maligned.

Alas, none of that was seen or heard from the Vice President.

Instead, he avoids his accusers and even threatens to go to the Supreme Court to stop the investigation and then attends public functions soliciting sympathy by complaining that he is being made as flavor of the month.

Lastly, the factor that contributed to the demolition of Jejomar Binay is the fact that he is so unlike a granite which could withstand the hammering.

Jejomar Binay is like a cheap wine glass which could be shattered by the shrilling voice of a canary singing in the halls of the Senate.