Ex-VP Binay posts bail, ‘eager’ to prove innocence

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) Former vice president Jejomar Binay arrived at the ant-graft court Sandiganbayan early Friday afternoon to post bail for cases in connection with the alleged overpriced P2.28-billion Makati city hall parking building II.

Binay posted bail, set at the P376,000, a day after the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges of graft, falsification of documents, and violation of the Government Procurement Act against him.

His lawyer, Daniel Subido, said his client is “eager” to prove his innocence in court.

“Former Vice President Jejomar C. Binay is eager to go to court to prove the grave abuses of the Ombudsman and have these frivolous cases dismissed,” Daniel Subido said a day after the Office of the Ombudsman filed criminal charges against his client in connection with the alleged overpriced Makati city hall building II.

Binay was Makati mayor during the first 3 of 5 phases of the project.

Subido continued the Binay camp’s attack against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, as he claimed that by filing the case before the Sandiganbayan, the Ombudsman “clearly violated the constitutional rights of VP Binay.”

“There is no specific act attributed against VP Binay that would constitute a crime in the Informations filed by the Ombudsman other than a tenuous conclusion of conspiracy,” he said.

Subido said that fact that “the prosecutors of the Ombudsman sought clarification from the latter” previous cases filed against the Makati officials  “shows the sloppiness of the work done by the Ombudsman in her attempt to maliciously indict the Binays by way of trial by publicity.”

The Ombudsman had repeatedly denied the charges.

Binay’s lawyer also said that the Commission on Audit (COA) has yet to issue “any audit observation memo or disallowances on the payments made over the subject project.”

In March, COA issued the findings of its 148-page special audit report on the Makati building, among them, that the former vice president is administratively liable for grave misconduct, dishonesty and gross inexcusable negligence, graft and corrupt practices in connection with the P2.28-billion building.

On Friday, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang said the Sandiganbayan en banc has decided to consolidate all Binay cases – including the cases of dismissed Makati mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr  pending before the court – “to avoid any potential conflict in the rulings,” ABS-CBN reported. 

His case will be handled by the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division, presided by Cabotaje-Tang. – Rappler.com