Roxas defends wife in Korina-Binay word war

MANILA, Philippines – Incoming Interior Secretary Mar Roxas shrugged off the word war between his wife, broadcaster Korina Sanchez, and Vice President Jejomar Binay as an issue that does not involve personal attacks.

On Monday, September 3, Roxas stressed that his wife is a professional and a multi-awarded journalist who has opinions that Binay does not have to take personally.

“Korina is a professional journalist. Her numerous awards as a journalist here and abroad will speak for themselves,” he replied when reporters asked him about Binay’s complaints over the reportedly “unethical” remarks by Sanchez.

“So if someone gets angry,” he said, pausing before citing a popular idiom: “bato-bato sa langit, tamaan huwag magalit,” which means that only the guilty ones get affected by an offensive remark that was thrown up in air.

“Hindi siya (Sanchez) namemersonal,” Roxas added. (She does not do personal attacks.)

Word war

The word war between Sanchez and Binay stemmed from Sanchez’s comment that “dark, little monsters” (“mga maiitim at maliliit na maligno“) wanted the position even before the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo got it.

Binay’s camp said the Vice President, who is dark skinned and short, felt alluded to.

Sanchez’s comment came on the heels of her politician husband’s recent appointment as head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). Roxas takes over the post after Robredo died in a plane crash last August 18.

Binay, who beat Roxas in a come-from-behind strategy for the vice presidential race in the 2010 polls, had previously expressed his interest in the DILG post given his stint as a long-time mayor of Makati City.

Binay was away when Roxas was named as new DILG secretary.

“It’s sad. I hope we can change our type of politics. After all, 2010 is over,” Binay himself told reporters upon his arrival from Iran on Saturday, September 1.

Binay’s camp reportedly wrote ABS-CBN Corp, Sanchez’s employer, a complaint letter. – Rappler.com