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PNoy denies LP hand in freezing of VP Binay’s bank accounts


President Benigno Aquino III has denied that the ruling Liberal Party (LP) had a hand in the freezing of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s bank accounts.
 
In an interview with Bombo Radyo on Wednesday, Aquino, LP chairman, said the process that led to the freezing of Binay’s bank accounts was undertaken by independent government bodies.

"‘Yung AMLC [Anti-Money Laundering Council] report, siyempre ‘di ba, ‘yung korte siguro may karapatan diyan, at saka ‘yung council meron sila ‘nung report nila. Pero ‘di ba independent body rin ‘yan,” Aquino said when asked if the LP has anything to do with Binay’s latest woes.
 
He added that he has not seen a copy of the AMLC report that prompted the Court of Appeals (CA) to freeze Binay’s bank accounts.
 
"Number one, ako, hindi ko nakita ang AMLC report na ‘yan. Number two, ‘yung isang kausap kong taga-Liberal Party kanina, sabi niya sa akin naghahanap rin siya kung sino ang may kopya ‘nung AMLC report,” Aquino said.
 
The President also refused to give unsolicited advice to Binay on how to deal with the latest controversy he is facing.
 
On Monday, the CA released a decision granting the AMLC’s petition to freeze 242 bank accounts belonging to the Vice President, his family members and his supposed allies. 
 
Binay is being investigated by the Ombudsman and the Senate blue ribbon cubcommittee for several controversies, including the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II and Makati Science High School, and an allegedly disadvantageous land deal between the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and Alphaland. 
 
Binay’s spokesman, lawyer Rico Quicho, earlier described the release of the CA freeze order as "blatant attempt to engage the Vice President in trial by publicity and to deprive him of his right to due process provided by the Constitution.” 
 
The Vice President’s daughter, Senator Nancy Binay, meanwhile said the CA freeze order was the handiwork of a political party to increase its chances of winning the 2016 presidential polls. 
 
Vice President Binay is the presumptive standard-bearer of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for the upcoming national elections. The LP has yet to announce its presidential bet, although some party officials have identified Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, who has been lagging behind popularity polls, as their candidate. — RSJ, GMA News
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