The alleged sprawling 350 hectares Batangas Hacienda Binay. How true ???
If proven to be part of the Good Vice Presidents undeclared assets, he should forget running for higher
office or any other public office but should also be criminally prosecuted !!!
Volume XVIII NO. 1 (October 11-17, 2014)
Binay on his Accusers: ‘I won’t give Dignity to them’
Vice President Jejomar Binay is standing his ground and says he still won’t attend the ongoing Senate blue ribbon sub-committee investigation. He pointed out that the probe is no longer about the Makati City Hall Building 2.
New accusations have been hurled against Binay by his former ally and ex-Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado.
What’s his next move?
In an interview in Mindanao, Binay said he “will not give dignity” to his accusers as well as the senators who have been conducting the hearings, which, he said, are politically motivated.
“Dadalo ka ba sa naninirang puring mga testigo? Dadalo ka ba sa bagay na hindi na dapat kasama pag-usapan? Dadalo ka ba doon kung nasagot na yung dapat pag-usapan? Pang-apat, dadalo ka pa ba doon kung alam mo na kung saan tutungo ang kanilang gagawin? I won’t give dignity to them,” he said.
Binay also said he expects his approval and trust ratings to further drop with the ongoing investigation of the Senate.
“Kung dadagdagan pa po ng istoryang walang batayan. Malungkot. Alam niyo po, akala ko tataas ang antas ng pulitika sa atin. Dapat ay pine-presenta ang paniniwala, mga programa, pero yun ba namang nagbibintang ka,” he explained.
Addressing the ‘hacienda’ issue
Earlier this week, Mercado alleged that Binay owns a 350-hectare estate in Rosario, Batangas which is equivalent to “six Luneta Parks, 10 Araneta Centers or even half the city of San Juan.”
Mercado said the estate has two mansions, an air-conditioned piggery, orchid farm, cockbreeding farm, horse ranch, and a man-made lagoon.
Senator Antonio Trillanes also insisted that Antonio Tiu, the businessman who claims to be the owner of the property, is just a dummy of Binay.
The vice president and Tiu vehemently denied the allegations.
“Nakakatawa po iyon. Matagal nang isyu iyon. Dumami na nga nang dumami. Dati nga 150 [hectares], tapos naging 200 ngayon naging 300 na. Pinaliwanag na po namin iyan. Hindi po ako ang may ari niyan. Nananaginip na lang iyan,” Binay said.
He added, “Ang nakakalungkot nga lang po, hindi na yata kasama sa iimbestigahan iyan. Ang iimbestigahan supposed to be is yung alleged overpriced building. Kita ninyo pulitikang-pulitika, ito personalan na. Hindi naman po criminal case ito.”
Binay also revealed that he pities Tiu after the latter was dragged into the “political circus.” He said Tiu is a legitimate businessman who owns the estate, now Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park, in Batangas.
“Nakakaawa naman ito. Hindi pa nga tumitestigo winawasak na ang pagkatao. Yun ang demeanor ng mga senador na iyon. Siya naman talaga ang may-ari. What’s the problem with that? Sa palagay ko, kuryente ang aabutin noon,” he said.
When asked if Tiu is a friend, Binay simply said, “Kakilala ko.”
What Trillanes claims
Meanwhile, Senator Trillanes insists that Tiu is, indeed, being used as a “dummy” by Binay to hide properties he supposedly acquired from ill-gotten wealth.
Trillanes laid out the alleged links between Binay and Tiu, who he said is the dummy owner of the vice president’s 350-hectare property in Rosario, Batangas, concealing it under the name of Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park.
Trillanes shared to the Senate that last August 5, he attended the “launch” of the Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park along with Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio Delos Reyes.
The supposed launch, he claimed, was apparently only an attempt by the camp of Binay to make it appear that Tiu’s Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park is a legitimate business.
“Apparently last August 5 nung ni-launch ito, meron silang intensyon na talagang gamitin ang iba’t-ibang opisyal ng gobyerno, including myself, si Sec. Pangilinan at si Sec. Delos Reyes, para linisin and to make it appear legitimate,” he said.
He noted that the launch still pushed through even if typhoon “Jose” was battering some parts of the country that time.
“Sabi ko, bakit hindi na lang i-postpone ito at bakit hindi makapaghintay. Well, apparently, meron na talagang naka-setup,” he said.
Trillanes also said that he was surprised when he noticed that the park’s pavements were not new. “Yung mga pavement, yung mga kalye ay may lumot or luma na. Alam mo na luma na ito. Even the landscaping luma. So nagtataka ako bakit ngayon lang ito ni-launch.”
“Well apparently ito na nga, naglilinis na ito. Ito na ang isang patunay na talagang nagre-resort sa dummy itong si Vice President Binay,” he said.
“Akala kasi ng iba magpa-picture lang sa atin o imbitahan tayo na mag-guest sa isang activity eh magiging protektado na natin sila,” he added.
To back up his claims, Trillanes also presented to the Senate Tiu’s alleged connections to Binay.
According to the senator, Tiu folded Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp. in 2013 into a publicly listed corporation, the Greenergy Holdings Inc., where Tiu is president.
Trillanes said the main shareholders of Greenergy are the Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp., Earthright Holdings Inc., and the Three Star Capital.
Citing the website of Greenergy, he said Subido, the legal counsel of Binay, is its corporate secretary and compliance officer.
Subido is also the director of Earthright Holdings Inc., he said.
He stressed that Subido is a law partner of one of Binay’s daughters, Makati Representative Abigail Binay, and a senior partner of the Subido, Pagente, Certeza, Mendoza, and Binay (SPCMB) law office.
Trillanes also pointed out that Earthright shares the same address as the SPCMB law office, and that is at the Value Point Executive Building 227 Salcedo Street in Legazpi Village, Makati City. /with reports by Kathlyn dela Cruz, ABS-CBNnews.com
