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On Wed, Mar 11, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it was putting Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, as well as other city officials, under preventive ssuspension for six months over corruption allegations concerning the alleged overpricing in the construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.
Citing Section 27 of Republic Act No. 6770, or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said that the resolution to suspended Makati Mayor for six months was “immediately executory.”
However, Binay isn’t going to go quietly.
“In a press conference at Makati City Hall on Wednesday afternoon as his followers started massing outside preparing to dig in, Binay stated that he was going to fight the suspension order,” report Maricar B. Brizuela and Marlon Ramos in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Binay was quoted as saying, “I will continue discharging my duties as mayor until all legal remedies have been respected. While I may belong to the opposition, I am still entitled to my rights like any Filipino citizen.”
The report noted: “Binay said his legal counsels had filed a petition for certiorari in the Court of Appeals questioning the Ombudsman order. Claro Certeza, a lawyer of the mayor, said Binay was asking for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO).”
Certeza stated, “And we believe that until such time that our prayer for TRO is decided upon, they cannot remove Mayor Binay from his post as he is duly elected by hundreds and thousands of Makati residents.”
