How Offense Can Be an Act of Desperation

When the whistle blower Ernesto Mercado presented at the Senate hearing of the overpriced Makati Parking Building the alleged Binay’s Hacienda in Rosario, Batangas, it made a big ruckus on the Binay’s camp. The worn out ruse “it’s only politics” staled on people’s thoughts it lost its currency. The allegation keeps on piling up and left unanswered. The hemorrhage unabated. The Binay camp has to devise something to stop the bleeding. As Binay’s trust rating declined, The Binay’s camp launched a three prong offensives. They didn’t fly. It gets them even deeper in the muck

The Binay came up with “Òplan Stop Nognog in 2016”, apparently hatched by Mar Roxas, his rival in the presidential race to discredit Binay, as he is still ahead on survey despite the ratcheting up of allegations. Also, for Binay to gain public sympathy. Sen. Cayetano said, “Oplan” was just an invention. Why put it on the open, the word “Oplan” implied secrecy. Mar Roxas, of course, denied this. He has no time for that concoction. He had been busy as a designated caretaker of the government. P’Noy then was out of town when this offensive erupted. And those Senators; Trillanes, Pimentel, Cayetano, who grilled every resource person attending the hearing do not even belong to the LP Party of Roxas.

The Binay camp trained their guns, too, on Sen. Trillanes. They resurrected his case at the Sandigan Bayan about his luxury vehicles not being included in his SALN. Sen. Trillanes rebut this by showing pictures of the vehicles in question, which could not even classified as luxuries. Further, Trillanes showed evidence that those people who made an allegation presented a spurious document at the Sandigan Bayan.

Here is the good part. The Vice President, Jejomar Binay as the Captain Ball for their offensive copied Jinggoy Estrada’s mantra of “selective justice” of the PDAF’s scam fame. In a speech Binay delivered before the 5th MCLE (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) at the Manila Hotel, he took a swipe at P’Noy’s mistreatment of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who languished in a hospital arrest for not giving her due consideration who at one time represented the office of the President. Meanwhile, he cuddled in kid’s glove his police chief Alan Purisima who, too, had a graft rap.

The funny thing was after Binay’s speech, he texted P’Noy to ask for an audience. Of course, pundits of tabloids and broadsheets were anxious to know what transpired at the meeting. Edgar Erice, member of the LP ruling party, when asked by a reporter, what his takes, said, nobody knows what they talked about. He (Binay) could have asked for forgiveness, you know, for the swipe. Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. Malacanang’s Communication Officer, said, the meeting did not tackle official issues. It was just a personal meeting between two long-time friends.

No break out news from the media about that Binay-P’Noy meeting on the first day. On the second day, however, Sen. Trillanes, dished out in the media that Binay tried using his friendship with P’Noy to influence the Senate hearing to terminate. And, to stop the NBI from probing the allege corruption relating to the overprice of the Makati Parking Building. Trillanes added further that P’Noy snubbed Binay’s overture.

Taking a cue from Trillanes, the print media’s columnists had a heyday juicing out copies of their interpretations of the Binay-P’Noy meeting mixed with embellishment.

P’Noy confirmed the salient feature of Binay’s meeting with him. In essence, it covered what Trillanes had said. P’Noy said, each Senator is a republic of their own, and if he is innocent what is he afraid of.

The Binay camp changed the tone of the meeting. They said, P’Noy offered Binay help, in which, P’Noy said, the spokesperson had it in reverse. It was Binay, who asked for advice.

The SWS latest survey says 79% of the respondents want Binay to face the Senate. Teofisto Guingona, Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee offered the mother committee to conduct the hearing instead of the sub-committee just for Binay to attend. Binay challenged Trillanes to a debate. Trillanes agreed, and the KBP (Kapisanan ng Brodkaster sa Pilipinas) is anxious to arrange this debate.

However, it is doubtful that Binay would go into any of these. Binay said, he would rather talk directly to the people to explain his side. People wonder why Binay insists on this gambit.

If Trillanes new allegation that Binay bribed Nelson Irasga, the Makati City Engineer, a potential witness, of 10 million every time he refused to attend the hearing, then one can imagine the enormous war chest that Binay has. This must be his ace kept on his sleeve.

The former President, Joseph Estrada after his plunder conviction toured around the country giving goodies. This style almost works for him when he runs again in 2010. He came in second, defeating even Manuel Villar. Had P’Noy been out of the picture, the Philippines could have had a plunderer as a comeback President.

The Vice President Jejomar could have been relying on Joseph Estrada’s strategy. Do sorties, making speeches with layer to generate sympathy, play an underdog, and on the side, do his effective EPAL system.

The Mother of all Blunders

Who’s piss is higher… that of a politically naïve, Jun Jun Binay, or that of the veteran, man- of- the-world, former Vice Mayor of Makati Ernesto Mercado? The question is a no brainer. Jun Jun’s piss, paled in comparison with that of Ernesto Mercado’s political sophistication and experienced.

The Binays ruled Makati for 27 years. Entrenched in power this long, and having been successful in dodging corruption cases against them, somehow built on them an aura of invincibility. This transcends into lording it over into their fiefdom of Makati. They can enrich themselves unrestrained based on what the public now gathers in the conduct of the Senate investigation on the alleged overprice of 300% or 2.7 Billion of the Makati City Parking Building.

The pissing contest between Jun Jun Binay and Ernesto Mercado started when lawyer Renato Bondal and Nicholas Enciso filed a plunder case to the Office of the Ombudsman against Jun Jun Binay, the Mayor of Makati and Jejomar Binay, the Vice President.

The Senate got interested on the issue. On the strength of Senate Resolution 826, the sub-committee of the Blue Ribbon Committee conducted its first hearing in aid of legislation on August 20, 2014. Jun Jun Binay, the primary resource person, attended this first hearing.

Several statements of Jun Jun Binay in the hearing gave out his political immaturity. For example, in order to justify the cost of the questioned parking building, he said it is a “world class and green building” with modern amenities. It turned out it couldn’t be classified as such on ocular inspection. He also admitted on questioning of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano: that “maybe the parking building is overpriced”. When asked if he made a comparison of the other building made by the Hillmarc’s Construction Corp to another location to determine if there was an apparent overprice, he said, he didn’t. He reasoned out also he is the last to sign and relied on the recommendation of Bids and Award Committee and on the Commission on Audit’s reports. He claimed further that the plunder charges against them were political. He said, to this effect, that right now, the Vice Mayor elect which belong to the opposition are planning to suspend him and intends on replacing his council by the Vice Mayor’s own men.

Jun Jun Binay has one statement, though, that not only made his piss paled in comparison with that of Ernesto Mercado, but also committed the “the mother of all blunders”. Jun Jun Binay on the hearing, said, to this effect. Why Renato Bondal and Nicholas Enciso didn’t include Ernesto Mercado’s name on the plunder charge filed against them, when he is involved, too. Just because he is their political allies?

Ernesto Mercado was so incensed of the dragging of his name while watching the first hearing at home. On September 13, he appeared on the Winnie Monsod’s TV show “Bawal ang Pasaway” and explained why he was motivated to be a whistle blower…

The successive hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Sub Committee virtually became Ernesto Mercado’s forum of his own, “pissing higher and higher”, bombarding the Binays of allegation after allegation.

Many wonder why the Binays seem adamant to see Ernesto Mercado’s calibrated “piss” at the Senate hearing. True, for now, it dented somewhat on Jejomar Binay’s trust rating on the survey, but his detractors may have to sustain that momentum till the election period without leaving a gap. Likewise, they have to supplement that of serious campaign down to the grass root level matching the Binay’s resources. Because if not, and if no one appears as a palatable and viable contender, as what Sen Trillanes had said, the Philippines would have a thief as Philippine President.