SOME people are peeved that I had not been able to comment on the issues surrounding Vice President Jejomar C. Binay. The truth is, I did not quite understand the issues then. Now I do, and I really have something to say now: Binay has a lot of explaining to do, and he may have to do that in front of the media, where he, of course, may exercise much clout. That is what I think, at least.
The Vice President has to counter what Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has said, which has inflicted much damage on his reputation. Former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado of Makati City was quoted as saying that the high-end estate in Rosario town, Batangas province, is 350 hectares and is owned by Binay using dummies through Agri-Fortuna Inc. This surprised me. I had always thought that two companies were involved and that Binay had thought this thing up. But I could be wrong, and if so, I would be the first to acknowledge it.
I must mention the fact that the committee is still functioning. Whether it exonerates Binay or not is still anybody’s guess. I think that anyone who is anti-Binay at this time and is running for a position in Makati would be popular, but that would be pure conjecture. At this time, I believe many would still vote for Binay, although their faith in him has been seriously eroded. Binay’s slide in the surveys has given hope to many other presidentiables, but his lead is still quite considerable, and the surveys have shown that Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has not benefitted much from it.