Belmonte: Binay can’t ‘brush aside’ charges as dirty politics

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (Facebook photo)

MANILA – With corruption allegations hurled against him, Vice President Jejomar Binay repeatedly dismissed such charges and regarded them as a ‘demolition job’ against him by his ‘detractors’ because he had expressed interest in running for president in next year’s elections.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who was also Liberal Party’s (LP) vice chairman, however, warned Binay not to take such allegations lightly as these were verifiable.

“The charges against Jojo (Binay) are formidable and provable. He should not brush them aside as dirty politics,” Belmonte said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Belmonte pointed out that Binay’s ratings had dropped in the two most recent presidential preferences surveys, landing second after Senator Grace Poe.

Both polls were conducted while the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee probed on Binay’s alleged kickbacks in city projects, including that of the overpriced Makati City Hall Building II and the controversial Makati Science High School building, among others.

Binay was the former Makati City mayor prior being elected as the Philippines’ Vice President.

“Polls are not static. They change from time to time. What is important is the trend and how to sustain or reverse them,” Belmonte said, reminding Binay to monitor the surveys.

Belmonte believed, however, that Poe would continue dominating the polls until presidential candidates file their candidacies later this year.

“Grace will be everybody’s target,” he said.

Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice, for his part, agreed with Belmonte and expected Poe’s rise in the surveys as she has become the ‘darling of the press.’ He also reiterated, however, that the poll results were capricious.

“The numbers reveal that everything is volatile. One valid issue may cause a dip. People are answering based on their heart’s sentiments.

But when the elections come near, they will use their minds,” Erice said.

Conversely, he acknowledged that Binay may be ‘doomed’ with his current standing in the polls.

With regards to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Belmonte deemed that the mayor’s vow to kill all criminals was not something the country needed from its next president.

“Is Digong (Duterte) serious?

Is that the way to run a country?” he asked.

Duterte, however, continued to climb up the presidential preferences surveys, securing him a third spot after Poe and Binay.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, on the other hand, was ‘moving up,’ placing fourth in the said polls.