VP Binay calls Aquino govt ‘a failure, callous’

(UPDATED 6:35 p.m.) Saying that the Aquino administration has become a failure and callous, Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday said he was working for a better government and dared President Benigno Aquino III's allies to face him in the 2016 elections instead of vilifying him and his family.

In a speech just two days after he resigned from President Benigno Aquino III's Cabinet, Binay said he wants a government that will benefit most Filipinos and not just a few.

"Ito rin ang hangarin ng ating mga kababayan: isang pamahalaang kabaliktaran ng manhid at palpak na pamahalaan ngayon," Binay said in his speech, delivered at the Coconut Palace and witnessed by his family members and supporters.

Binay, a longtime friend of Aquino and his late mother former President Corazon Aquino, took a dig at the administration's failure to make its modest economic gains felt by the country's poor.

"Ang nakikinabang sa ipinagyayabang na pag-unlad ay iilan lamang, kasama ang mga piling kaibigan at kapartido ng mga nasa puwesto," he said.

Injustice

Binay also assailed the "selective justice" of the Aquino administration, accusing it of turning a blind eye on the corruption allegations against its allies while harassing the opposition with criticisms, referring to the controversial pork barrel scam where three opposition senators are implicated, and the alleged anomalous Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) implemented by the Aquino government.

"Habang ako at ang aking pamilya ay ginigipit at inuusig, hinahayaan naman nila ang malawakang anomalya ng kanilang mga kasama at kapartido," Binay said.

Binay and his son, Makati Mayor Junjun, were subjects of a lengthy Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigation on the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II. They are also facing plunder and graft complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman.

He said this "injustice" is what will motivate him to pursue the presidency in 2016.

"Kaya ko ang lahat ng ginagawa at gagawin pa nilang pagpapahirap sa akin. Ngunit hindi ko kayang tiisin na magpatuloy ang kahirapan na hinaharap ninyo sa bawat araw," Binay said.

Binay said Aquino's allies are threatened because of his popularity and winnability in the coming elections. "Ako ang pangunahing balakid sa kanilang ambisyon at hangarin," he said.

"Alam nila na marami sa kanilang kandidato ang hindi mananalo sa isang malinis at patas na halalan. Kaya gagamit sila ng maruruming paraan, sukdulang sila ay magsinungaling, magwaldas ng pondo ng bayan, at magpatuloy sa paglabag sa batas," Binay said.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas, the ruling Liberal Party's presumptive standard-bearer, has yet to lead in the presidential preference surveys.

However, Binay, who until recently led the presidential preference surveys, has since been overtaken by Sen. Grace Poe. The first-termer is an independent who ran under the Aquino-led senatorial line-up in 2013.

"May hangganan ang pagtitiis ng isang tao. Tama na. Sobra na. Bakit hindi nila ako harapin sa malinis na halalan?" Binay said.

It will be recalled that when Corazon Aquino ran against then President Ferdinand Marcos, "Tama na, sobra na, palitan na," was her battle cry. 

"Sinasabi ko ngayon na kung ang layunin ninyo ay paatrasin ako sa pagtakabo sa 2016, nagkakamali kayo, hindi ako umaatras sa laban," Binay said.

Insensitive

Binay also called the Aquino government insensitive and a failure for failing to address the needs of the poor. "Kailangan natin ng isang pamahalaan na makatao at hindi manhid, at may malasakit kanino man," he said.

He also explained his reason why he resigned from the Cabinet: "Nagbitiw po ako sa Gabinete dahil hindi ako makapapayag na ipawalang-saysay at siraan ang aking mga programang pang-masa."

An initial advisory from Binay's staff said the speech was scheduled at 3 p.m. It was later on moved to 4 p.m. then another hour later.

Palace reacts

In a statement shortly after the vice president’s speech, presidential spokesman Sec. Edwin Lacierda said Binay could have aired his gripes to Aquino during his almost five years as Cabinet member.

“In the five years of service to President Aquino, he [Binay] has never spoken ill of the governance policies of the President,” Lacierda said.

“Still, he has made the unfortunate choice to commence his presidential run with statements he could have otherwise discussed with the president as a Cabinet member but chose not to,” he added.

Lacierda further said that Binay's speech "will define himself not only as an official but also as a person."

On Binay's charge that many of the administration's candidates have little chances of winning in the elections, LP stalwart Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad said: "Bakit niya alam na mananalo siya eh wala pang eleksyon?"

The Aquino-led LP has yet to pick its standard-bearer even though party members have expressed support for Roxas' possible candidacy.

Irrevocable

On Monday, Binay irrevocably resigned as a member of Aquino's official family, quitting his positions as head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and as presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers' concerns.

The vice president sent his daughter, Makati Rep. Abigail Binay, and his chief of staff, Undersecretary Benjamin Martinez, Jr., to hand carry his resignation letter to Malacañang.

The letter addressed to President Aquino contains only one sentence: "I hereby tender my irrevocable resignation as a member of the Cabinet effective immediately.”

Among the personalities at the Coconut Palace were members of the Binay family, including the Vice President's wife Elenita, his son Makati Mayor Junjun, and his daughters, Senator Nancy and Makati Rep. Abigail Binay.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza and lawyer Harry Roque, both presumed to be running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) banner, as well as UNA spokespersons Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, also witnessed the Vice President's speech. —with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/NB/KBK/JJ, GMA News