Got a tip? Send it to us at manila@coconuts.co.
He’s not going to go quietly — if he goes at all.
“In a press conference on Thursday morning, March 12, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay said he would continue sleeping on the sofa in his office while his lawyers were asking for a temporary restraining order on his six-month suspension by the the Ombudsman,” reports Maricar B. Brizuela in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
On Wed, Mar 11, the Ombudsman had announced that it was imposing a six-month preventive suspension on Mayor Binay over corruption allegations concerning the supposedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II.
READ: Mayor Junjun Binay, several other Makati officials ordered suspended by Ombudsman
The report noted: “About a hundred of Binay’s supporters stayed at the reception hall leading to the mayor’s office, almost serving as a human barricade in case people carrying the suspension order came. Plus, more than 1,000 supporters from various barangays in the city were at the quadrangle.”
Mayor Binay’s father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, had also spent the night at the Makati City Hall.
Mayor Binay was quoted as saying, “Hindi kami aalis dito.”
The current situation at the Makati City Hall is reminiscent of a similar event involving the mayor’s father.
A Philstar.com report by Mike Frialde recalled: “In October 2006, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the suspension order against the elder Binay, then Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, and all members of the Makati City Council following an accusation of ‘ghost employees’ on the city payroll by former Makati Vice Mayor Roberto Brillante, Binay’s political rival. The elder Binay barricaded himself inside the Makati City Hall. After a three-day stand-off, the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order. Before it lapsed, the court issued an injunction order, thereby preventing the Office of the President from enforcing its suspension order until the case was resolved.”
