MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The ties between the Aquino and Binay families go a long way back since the time of martial law. But what was seen as a formidable friendship born by standing side by side during political struggles ended – thanks to politics and ambitions.

Binay was the first OIC mayor appointed by President Corazon Aquino in 1986 after the people power revolution. The move started the decades-long hold of the Binays in the country’s financial capital. In the most tumultuous years of the Aquino administration, Mayor Binay always went the extra mile in protecting the president’s children, reportedly attending to a wounded Benigno III and hiding them in a safehouse.

So in 2010, although Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Mayor Jejomar Binay were running under different political parties, their friendship remained. In fact, Aquino’s relatives and many of their allies during the anti-martial law years reportedly campaigned for a Noy-Bi ticket.

That good relationship between the President and the Vice President continued until 2013, even when Binay led the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). (READ: VP Binay will never leave Aquino’s side)

Their relationship might have started to turn sour in 2014, when the Senate began its hearings on alleged corruption committed by Binay and his family when he was mayor of Makati. The Vice President’s camp had alleged that the probe – televised and now running for almost a year – was meant to derail Binay’s plans for 2016. After all, the VP was leading presidential preference polls at the time, while Aquino’s party mate, Manuel Roxas II, could not get past single-digit ratings.

At what point did their relationship start to show cracks? Here is a timeline:

October 2010 – Aquino appoints Binay to two Cabinet posts he requested – as housing czar and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFW)

May 2013 – Nine members of the administration-backed Team PNoy and 3 UNA candidates make it to the Magic 12 of the midterm elections.

December 2013 – The Vice President gets “very good” satisfaction ratings at 62%. He has always enjoyed “very good” to “excellent” ratings in surveys since he assumed the vice presidency in June 2010.

2014

June – A corruption complaint is filed against Binay. He suspects it is in response to a Pulse Asia survey, conducted June 24 to July 2, that showed Vice President Binay remains the top choice for president in 2016

July –  Binay’s satisfaction rating climbs 11 points from 62% in December 2013 to 73% “excellent” net satisfaction ratings in July.

        – A plunder case is filed against Binay in relation to an over-priced multi-million-peso New Makati City Parking building contract. Binay defends the buildings, saying they were of “high quality” and not overpriced. He admits, however, that he does not have details, such as the price of the property.

August – The Senate begins what will turn out to be a year-long investigation into the alleged overpriced buildings and cakes.

September – Binay, a lawyer by profession, refuses to attend the Senate hearings, saying the allegations against him will not stand in court.

October 6 – Binay starts throwing veiled attacks against President Aquino. He criticizes the administration and the Cabinet. 

October 7 – Senator Nancy Binay, the VP’s daughter, says she expects a massive demolition job against their family, following the Senate investigations.

October 15 – Binay continues to hit Aquino’s allies, like then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, for the supposed demolition job. De Lima has said the National Bureau of Investigation under her department will likely pursue a probe into the Binay family’s allegedly ill-gotten wealth.  

October 20 – A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, conducted between September 26 and 29, shows that a big majority of Filipinos – 79% – agree that Vice President Jejomar Binay should face the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee to explain his side in the string of corruption exposés made against him.  

November – In response to Binay’s criticisms of his administration, President Aquino says the Vice President, a Cabinet member, has the power to change what he thinks is wrong in the administration. Aquino adds that if Binay is still unhappy with the government’s policies, he is “free to leave” the Cabinet.

                   – Senate President Franklin Drilon said Aquino called him to relay Binay’s request to stop the Senate investigations against him.

December – Binay experiences a drastic drop in his ratings – a 45% approval rating, 21 percentage points down from his 66% in September. Binay’s trust rating also plunges to 44% from 54%.

The downward trend is similar to his fall in the December Pulse Asia polls on 2016 presidential preferences, when his ratings dropped 5 percentage points – from 31% in September to 26% in November 2014. 

2015

June – Binay admits he hopes to be secretly endorsed by the President. Aquino, however, rejects the idea, citing political differences between them. 

June 22 – Binay resigns from the Cabinet. Two days after his resignation, he delivers a speech hitting Aquino’s “failed” and “crooked” government. At this point, Senator Grace Poe is already the presidential polls front-runner.

June 25 – Aquino expresses dismay at Binay’s tirades and wonders aloud why he, as a Cabinet official, did not make any proposals at all to improve government service in the last 5 years. Aquino further says he did not make Binay a “spare tire” as his vice president.

At this point, all gloves are off as presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and the Binay camp have started heated exchanges.

July 1 – Binay leads the formal launch of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and the election of its officials. In his speech, he blasts the Aquino government again.

July 27 – Aquino delivers his last State of the Nation Address and he gives assurances his opponents would get something from him. While he thrice hits Binay in his speech, the camp of the Vice President denies feeling alluded to. (READ: Binay stunned by Aquino’s ‘Eh di wow!’)

July 30 – Presidential sisters Ballsy Cruz and Pinky Abelleda say in a TV interview that it is clear the Binays and Aquinos have separated ways in time for the 2016 elections. They also admit getting hurt by the accusations that Binay has made against their brother.

July 31 – President Aquino formally endorses Manuel Roxas II as the administration’s standard-bearer. Roxas and Binay’s political rivalry stemmed from the 2010 vice presidential race. Roxas, who was Aquino’s running mate, believed that people who were working for a Noy-Bi ticket contributed to his loss. Roxas filed an election protest, which remains unresolved by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

August 3 – A week after Aquino’s SONA, Binay delivers what he called the True SONA to debunk the President’s claims in his speech. As Binay hits the Aquino government for its failures, Aquino allies are quick to defend the President, saying Binay has “no credibility.” 

October 9 – Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered the perpetual disqualification of suspended mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr from holding public office.

October 26 – In a forum, Binay says the Aquino years were a lost opportunity for the Philippines, citing again the government’s failure to alleviate poverty.

November 7 – During the 2^nd anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban, Binay takes the chance to bring up the considered kryptonite of his political nemesis, Roxas, the interior and local government chief at the time the disaster killed more than 6,000 and government’s response was considered slow. Binay hits the Aquino administration for the mismanagement of rescue, relief, and rehabilitation operations, calling it a “management disaster.”

November 12 – The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) filed a civil forfeiture case, seeking a freeze order (provisional asset preservation order or PAPO) that covers 139 bank accounts and 19 real properties under the name of Binay, his family, and some associates.

December 6 – More personalities have been dragged in the investigation of the ALMC into the alleged laundering of public funds by Binay, his family, and his alleged accomplices. The AMLC said Binay coursed his alleged money laundering scheme through the joint bank accounts. Binay’s camp, however, claimed that the AMLC petition is baseless and unathorized by law.

December 11 – Binay accuses Roxas of derailing his presidential bid.

December 18 – A third plunder complaint against dismissed Makati mayor Junjun Binay was filed by lawyer Renato Bondal before the Ombudsman.

Bondal filed the complaint involving P828 million ($17.42 million) worth of IT contracts with the Makati city government that Codeworks.PH and Powerlink.Com Corporation cornered from 2008 to 2014. He previously called the two companies as the “Binay syndicate,” or alleged dummy companies of the Vice President. (READ: How Binay ‘dummies’ cornered Makati contracts for a decade) – Rappler.com