THE camp of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay on Tuesday dared Senate Blue Ribbon Committee members to submit themselves to an audit of their projects funded through the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, the outlawed Development Acceleration Program, and other congressional insertions.
Lawyer Rico Quicho, the Vice President’s spokesman for political affairs, said that since Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III has been bandying that the ongoing Blue Ribbon Subcommittee hearings on Binay are conducted under the constitutional principle, “Public Office is a Public Trust,” then the three senators leading the hearings should subject themselves to the same audit.
“Their infrastructure projects should also be audited using the Langdon and Seah Construction Cost Handbook, which they have invoked in the hearings and subsequent report,” Quicho added.
Quicho also slammed Pimentel’s decision to audit the key shelter agencies after Binay resigned from the Cabinet.
According to Quicho, it would have been reasonable had Pimentel called for an audit of all agencies handled by resigned officials.
“Kung nagpapatawag si Senator Pimentel ng performance at financial audit sa lahat ng sangay ng pamahalaan kapag may nag-resign na pinuno nito ay mai-intindihan namin ang liham niya para usisain ang mga shelter agencies noong panahon na chairman ng HUDCC [Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council] si Vice President Binay,” he said.
“Sa dinami-dami ng nagbibitiw na opisyal, si VP Binay lamang ang tanging sinabihan at sinulatan ng audit. Noong nag-resign ang pinuno ng Customs na si John Sevilla dahil umano sa mga nagpa-fund-raising na miyembro ng Liberal Party, tahimik siya at hindi kumikibo. Akala ba namin ‘Public Office is a Public Trust?’ Mukha yatang mga kalaban lamang ang target nila,” Quicho lamented.
Quicho noted that, under the Vice President’s leadership, Pag-IBIG Fund pursued the syndicated estafa case against Delfin Lee and other Globe Asiatique officials.
“Kinasuhan ni Vice President at ng Pag-IBIG ang mga ma-anomalyang developer na nangloko ng libu-libong kababayan natin. Ngunit ngayon ay pinagtatanggol siya ng iyong kasamahan diyan sa Senado. Kaya batid ko na ang iyong liham ay para ituloy lamang ang ginagawa mong paninira sa pamilya Binay para ikaw naman ay mapansin at mabiyayaan pagtakbo mo sa susunod na eleksyon,” he said.
Quicho said that, while Pimentel keeps insisting that the Vice President should attend the Blue Ribbon Subcommittee hearings, the senator has already prejudged that case and pronounced Binay guilty.
“Alam mo din na marami nang dokumento na isinumite sa iyong komite na magpapawalang saysay sa mga kasinungalingan ng iyong mga resource persons pero ang mga ito at iyong binalewala kaparehas ng affidavit na ipinadala ni Vice President Binay sa Senado [There are many documents that have been submitted by resource persons but these have been ignored like the affidavits sent by Vice President Binay in the Senate],” he said.
He added that Pimentel himself has admitted multiple times that he has found no concrete proof provided by former Makati City Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and his companions.
“Ang nakakagulat ay kahit ikaw na mismo ang nagsabi na maglabas ng ebidensiya ang mga nagbibintang, nagpasiya ka pa rin na payagan na magpatuloy ang imbestigasyon,” Quicho said.
“Maraming beses mo na rin na sinabi na dapat wakasan na ang pinakamahabang imbestigasyon sa kasaysayan ng politika sa bansa, ngunit sadyang nagpapagamit ka sa gusto ng iyong kasamahan,” he added.
Quicho said Pimentel should instead apply the same brand of investigation and disrespect they are using in the senate hearings to the officials who implemented the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), those responsible for the problem-ridden MRT, and the Iloilo Convention Center.
“Siyempre hindi mo gagawin kasi kakampi mo,” he said.
“Sa huli ay nais kong ipaalam sa iyo na tama ka at matagal kayo nagkasama ni Vice President. Kaya kami gulat na gulat na malaki ang ipinagbago sa iyong istilo. Napakadali ka nang magpagamit para sa sarili mong interes,” he added.
“Napakadali mo nang humusga at hindi na nakikinig sa paliwanag ng ibang tao. Sana ay magpakatotoo dahil bistado na ang ginagawa mo at nang iyong mga kasamahan,” Quicho added.
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Quicho as a lawyer, knows the legal maxim, ” Do not rely on the weakness of others., rely on your strength.” Ang kalabas-labasan niya ay nagiging kiko talaga., dahil ang ibig niyang sabihin, ipaaudit din ang iba. Tama naman yan . Ibig sabihin may mananagot muna. ‘E dapat si Bijnay managot or sasagot muna.Bakit laging pipi siya? A man who has done nothing wrong is as bold as a lion. Alam mo Quics, mahirap talaga magdepensa ng mali o sinungaling. Kitam? Mabuti pa si Remulla natauhan din.
When a fruit supplier delivers to a buyer supposed to be fresh fruits with a lot of spoilage in one box, all delivered boxes would have to be subjected to audit. The supplier has no right to require the buyer to audit all other fruit suppliers delivered boxes saying this is to ensure equal treatment. In real life, only those with bad records will be thoroughly audited.