PNoy tells Makati of charges vs. VP Binay, cheaper cakes under Peña

President Benigno Aquino III on Friday took the campaign of his anointed presidential candidate Mar Roxas to Makati City, telling its residents of the unanswered allegations of corruption facing their former mayor Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Aquino, a personal friend of Binay since the time they opposed the Marcos dictatorship, said the opposition standard bearer has since changed.

It was Aquino’s mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino, who appointed Binay as the officer-in-charge mayor of Makati City after the 1986 People Power revolt.

Binay and his family has since held on to the mayoralty until his son Junjun was dismissed by the Ombudsman on corruption charges in 2015.

“Napakalinaw noong mga panahong iyon kung sino si Jejomar Binay. Ngayon, ang tanong: Saan na kaya napunta ang nakilala kong Jejomar Binay noon?” the President said.

Aquino and Binay have become political foes since the Vice President quit Aquino’s Cabinet in June last year.

‘Unanswered allegations’

Aquino said it was odd that Binay had been consistently criticizing his administration when he himself had a lot of explaining to do about the corruption allegations against him.

“Isa itong malakas na bumanat sa aking kandidato, 2014 pa lang po, may alegasyon pala ng katiwalian. Ako lang ba ang nag-aabang ng malinaw na sagot mula sa taong ito, na isa sa mga naghahangad na maging Pangulo ng Pilipinas?” Aquino said.

Binay has repeatedly denied the allegations of corruption against him. He likened the repeated references to the charges to the way Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels repeated lies to give them a semblance of truth.

‘Cheaper cakes’

Aquino also campaigned for Mayor Kid Peña, who replaced Junjun Binay after his dismissal.

He said Makati's free cakes for senior citizens now cost less than when a Binay was at the helm of city hall.

"Pati ‘yung birthday cake, umasenso na raw, pina-bidding niya at sinusuplay na ng isang kilalang brand. Tama ho ba? Kilala na ‘yung brand, mas mura pa ang cake," Aquino said.

"Ikumpara natin po sa dating hindi kilalang supplier na mas mahal ang cake. Kung nagtataka kayon po, wag niyo po akong tanungin sa sagot, dahil ako rin po nagtataka kung bakit mas mahal  ‘yung non-branded sa branded," he added.

"Sa cake pa lang po umasenso na kayo kay Kid Peña, marami pa ho yatang ibang larangan pwede kayong umasenso," Aquino said.

Peña is running for mayor against Makati Representative Abigail Binay, the Vice President's daughter.

Bailiwick

Makati is considered the bailiwick of the Binays.

The Vice President was the city mayor for almost two decades after he was appointed OIC in 1986. He won everytime he ran for mayor.

When he reached the three-term limit in 1998, his wife Elenita ran for mayor and won.

Binay again ran for mayor in 2001 and won his re-election bids in 2004 and 2007.

When he ran for vice president in 2010, his son Junjun ran and won the mayoralty.

Makati has 397,587 registered voters for the 2016 national and local elections according to the Commission on Elections.

Binay got 179,375 votes in Makati City during the 2010 vice-presidential elections. He beat Roxas, who got 74,897 votes. —NB, GMA News