VP Binay: Cabinet execs recently treated me like a leper

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday said he was recently treated “like a leper” by his fellow Cabinet officials.

 

Binay, who quit his Cabinet posts last Monday, said he felt that the cold treatment by his fellow secretaries was part of the administration’s attempt to persecute him.

 

“Alam mo itong mga bandang huli na nga, kasama na ito siguro ng resulta ng panggigipit, at sabihin ko lang sa inyo ... lalung-lalo na na kalat na kalat na at ikinakalat ng mga kalaban ko sa pulitika na ako ay ipaaaresto,” Binay told reporters in Navotas, where he distributed medical equipment.

 

“Alam mo para kang may ketong doon sa Cabinet meeting,” he added.

 

But in a statement, presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda quickly belied Binay’s claim, saying the Vice President was treated with respect by his fellow Cabinet members. 

 

“With utmost respect to the Vice President, the underdog image he tries to portray is a gross misrepresentation of what happens inside Cabinet meetings,” Lacierda said in a text message to reporters.

 

“The truth is he is given all the respect due the second highest official in the land during Cabinet meetings,” the Palace official added.

Combative speech

 

In a combative speech on Wednesday, Binay, the opposition’s presumptive standard-bearer for the 2016 polls, called the Aquino government “callous” and “a failure.” 
 

The Vice President also accused the administration of neglecting the poor and perpetuating selective justice.

 

But on Thursday, President Benigno Aquino III expressed dismay over Binay’s remarks, saying the Vice President was treated kindly by his administration despite being a member of the opposition. 
 

Aquino also attributed Binay’s tirade to his recent statement that he is not inclined to endorse the Vice President in the 2016 presidential elections. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News