Mayor Binay wants three justices to inhibit from Makati case

Makati Mayor Erwin Binay show a minor bruise and pacifies supporters after he was brought to the Senate plenary when he refused to testify at the Senate hearing on Thursday (January 29, 2015) at the Senate Building in Pasay City. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin ‘JunJun’ Binay Jr. is calling for the inhibition of  three justices from his cases involving his preventive suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall building 2.

In an report from The Philippine Star, Mayor Binay is seeking Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. to inhibit from the said case.

According to Mayor Binay, Sereno must excuse herself from the hearings due to her alleged bias during the Sandra Coronel interpellation in April. He also pointed out that Carpio if related to the petitioner–Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. Lastly, Binay said that Villarama must inhibit himself after reportedly admitting that he knows “a lawyer from the Ombudsman’s office.”

According to an insider to The Philippine Star, if the three justices decide to inhibit from the case, there will only be eight justices left to decide on the case. The same informant, however, said that it would be unlikely that the three would inhibit.

Last month, Binay also sought four associate justices to inhibit from the case. All four — Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Diosdado Peralta, Arturo Brion, and Francis Jardeleza — recused themselves from the case for different reasons.