VP Binay denies hand in Tiangco’s residency issue vs. Grace Poe

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday said he had nothing to do with the residency issue raised by his close ally, Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco, against Senator Grace Poe.

In an interview with Bombo Radyo, Binay said he learned from Tiangco that Poe was allegedly short of the residency requirement under the Constitution a month or two months ago.

"Sabi ko sa kanya, Toby, 'wag ka nang nang makialam diyan, pabayaan mo na lang iba ang magsabi niyan. Eh kagabi nagulat ako, may nagsabi sa'kin sinabi ni Toby ganito-ganito. Sa bagay na 'yan kung bakit nasabi ni Toby e tanong niyo na lamang sa kaniya," Binay said.

"Ayaw ko nang makisawsaw diyan and, unang-una mahal ko pa rin si FPJ. Maigi po 'yun maraming kandidato para makapamili ang tao. Pangalawa, hindi ko ugaling, kababaeng tao pa naman, kumare ko pang buo 'yan," the Vice President added.

Binay was referring to the late actor-turned-presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., father of Senator Poe. Binay was FPJ's campaign manager in the 2004 presidential elections.

On Tuesday, Tiangco presented a photocopy of Poe's certificate of candidacy during the 2013 senatorial elections, which showed that the then-senatorial aspirant had been a resident of the Philippines for six years and six months prior to the midterm polls.

Tiangco, also the interim president of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) which Binay heads, cited Article VII, Section 2 of the Constitution which states that "no person may be elected President unless he is...a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election."

Tiangco argued that Poe will be six months short of the requirement even if Poe's residency in the Philippines until the May 2016 elections were to be included.

Meanwhile, Binay said that candidates aspiring to run for the presidency should have enough experience in the executive branch of government.

"Kung ikaw e ang karanasan mo e sa Congress, hindi ka naman humawak ng tao, di ka humawak ng crisis, di ka umano, edi kulang ka sa karanasan at saka kulang kang mapakita 'yung competence mo," Binay, the former mayor of Makati City, said. —NB, GMA News