Senate did not railroad subcommittee report vs Binay — Drilon

Senate President Franklin Drilon opens the First Session of the Senate for the Year 2015 on Tuesday (Jan. 20, 2015) at the Senate Building in Pasay City. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday denied accusation of Vice President Jejomar Binay that the Senate railroaded a subcommittee report which recommends filing of plunder charges against the Vice President and other Makati City officials.

“It’s the whole Senate, and not the Senate president that will approve the report. The Senate president is just one of the 24 senators,” Drilon explained in a interview with Bombo Radyo.

Binay has said the Senate under the leadership of Drilon will eventually approve in the plenary the committee report because the senators are allegedly implying that he committed wrongdoings.

Drilon explained that since Binay’s daughter, Nancy Binay, is also a senator, “they cannot say that we will railroad the report.”

The Senate leader also said the blue ribbon subcommittee conducted over 20 hearings since August last year.

The Vice President has been given all the opportunities to defend himself but he turned down even an invitation from blue ribbon mother committee chairman Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III.

A total of 10 senators have already signed the draft report of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee on its inquiry into the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II and other anomalies.

They are Senators Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV, Serge Osmena III, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Pia Cayetano, Guingona, Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV, Grace Poe and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Pimentel prepared the draft report as chairman of the blue ribbon subcommittee while Trillanes introduced the Senate Resolution No. 826 seeking probe into alleged PHP1.606-billion overpricing of the 11-story Makati City Hall parking building.

Aside from the Vice President, the subcommittee recommended that the anti-graft courts should also investigate and ultimately file plunder cases against Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. and other Makati City officials.

They are Marjorie de Veyra, Lorenza P. Amores, Gerardo K. San Grabriel, Pio Kenneth Dasal, and Ulysses Orienza.

The subcommittee also believed that Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. chairman Efren Canlas, president Roberto Henson, Orlando Mateo, Gerry Limlingan and Eduviges ‘Ebeng’ Baloloy conspired with the Makati City officials.

The subpanel also gave 22 recommendations including suggestions for the Commission on Audit and other government agencies like Security and Exchange Commission to further investigate the Makati City anomalies.