Care to hear what he had to say?
“Vice President Jejomar Binay snubbed the Senate hearing and just decided to submit an affidavit which he says ‘contains a detailed response to the baseless accusations and lies of our political rivals, and the apparent bias for my detractors and efforts to malign me by members of the Senate subcommittee on matters related to the contents of Resolution 826,'” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
Then, in his letter to Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Senator Teofisto Guingona III, Binay raised the following painful points. (Painful to him, that is.)
1. Level up, level down. “This will set a bad precedent, where the Vice President, the second highest official of the land, can be summoned to a hearing by some senators.”
2. The blame is on Trillanes and Cayetano. “You assured me in your letter that if I were to show up in the Senate, I will be accorded a fair hearing and I will be given the respect that befits my position as Vice President of the Republic. However, recent events, especially the behavior of Senators Trillanes and Cayetano, gave me reason to doubt such an assurance.”
3. Bullying issue. “(These senators) continue to demonstrate this in their continued bullying, debasement, suppression and intimidation of ordinary people whose testimonies contradict their conclusion.”
4. Senate leaders questioned. “I am saddened that all this time, not once have the leaders of the Senate took notice, reminded, or called the attention of the senators for their wanton disregard of individual rights and of the law. Those invited to the hearings are ‘resource persons in aid of legislation,’ in other words, they were invited to help craft laws, as contained in the resolution. But they have been treated like criminals.”
5. No hope. “If these senators were not even admonished in the past eleven hearings, and if my authorized representatives were treated like criminals, I see no assurance that I will be given the chance to speak freely, that my rights will be recognized, or that the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines will be accorded the respect it deserves.”
Photo: Jojo Binay Facebook page
