Cayetano sees Binay family’s hand in filing of complaint against him, wife

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday linked the Binay family to the criminal complaint filed against him and his wife over various alleged anomalies, including overpriced multicabs bought by the Taguig City government.

“Napaka-timing naman ng pagfa-file nila, 10 o’clock yung hearing, 10 o’clock din sila nag-file,” Cayetano said, referring to Wednesday's Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the allegedly overpriced building in Makati that was constructed during the term of Vice President Jejomar Binay as Makati mayor.

Cayetano said Roderick Vera, the president of Philippine Association for the Advocacy of Civil Liberties (PAACL), the group that filed the complaint, was a classmate of Binay's daughter, Makati Rep. Abby Binay, in law school.

Rep. Binay, in a statement, admitted that Vera was her former classmate, but denied that her family had a hand in the filing of the complaint against Cayetano and his wife, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano.

“While I admit being batchmates with Rod Vera in Ateneo Law School, I have no knowledge of or participation in the complaints filed,” Rep. Binay said.

Vera, in a separate interview at the Senate after the blue ribbon committee hearing, denied that his group's action was backed by a political group.

“No political group supporting us. We are a group of independent lawyers. We felt the need to file this to make the public know what the senator and the mayor have been doing,” he said.

Not overpriced

Cayetano, meanwhile, denied the PAACL’s allegation that the 18 multicabs purchased by the Taguig City government amounting to P498,000 each were overpriced by as much as P5.4 million.

“Yung mga sasakyan na ginagamit namin na ambulansya, they are all purchased brand new. We don’t buy second hand, kasi nga baka masiraan at hindi matuloy ang pasyente sa ospital. You go to any stores, that’s the price with taxes of any brand new vehicles,” he said.

He said he is ready to face the complainants as well as the Binays in court.

Rep. Binay, on the other hand, said instead of dragging her name into the controversy, the Cayetanos and their supporters should answer the accusations against them.

“Instead of muddling issues through exaggerated connections between myself and the complainant, I hope that the talking heads of the Cayetanos would instead address the issues on the P500,000 multicabs, ghost employees and ill-gotten wealth,” she said.

Bogus charges

An ally of the Cayetanos has accused supporters of the Binay family of initiating the filing of criminal charges against the couple to distract the public from the ongoing investigation on the alleged overpricing of the construction of the Makati City parking building.

"Their agenda is clear: make up bogus charges and distract from the ongoing investigation on the Binay’s corruption involving the Makati parking building. These are purely lies based on maliciously distorted facts," said Taguig City councilor Darwin Icay.

Another alleged anomaly cited by PAACL as basis for its criminal complaint was Mayor Lani’s reported hiring of ghost employees in 2012. Sen. Cayetano, meanwhile, was accused of graft for the "sudden increase" of his net worth despite having "no new source of income.”

Although the Binay’s relationship with the Cayetanos has become strained in recent years due to the territorial row involving the adjoining cities of Makati and Taguig, Rep. Binay said she still considers the mayor and senator “as close friends.” Mayor Lani, she noted, is even the godmother of her daughter.   

“I hope our relationship will not be strained by rumors and innuendoes,” she said. —with Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News