A guest speaker during the National Convention of Government Employees, Binay, now in the center of corruption allegations, said his standard reply to anyone asking how he is doing has been, “Ito, flavor of the months.”
Binay, a strong candidate for president in 2016 based on surveys, is being linked to corruption activities starting from his stint as Makati mayor. He is also accused of having hidden wealth, allegedly evidenced by his sprawling property in Batangas province and a log cabin in Tagaytay City.
During Friday’s event, Binay reminded Esperanza Ocampo, president of Philippine Government Employees Association, who mistakenly introduced him as “Mahal na Presidente,” to be careful.
“Nagkakandabulol-bulol ka sa pagsasalita, alam mo naman kung gaano kalupit ang panahon ngayon,” he said, resorting to metaphor.
Ocampo immediately corrected herself, saying it was an honest mistake.
Appeal to media
In his speech, Binay appealed to the media to give government employees accused of corruption a fair treatment.
“Alam mo naman kapag napagbintangan ka, ang mga tao naniniwala agad. Apela ko lang sa media na sana bigyan nyo ng palugit na parehong espasyo para makapagpaliwanag ang mga inaakusahan,” he said.
Binay has denied the accusations against him, but has refused to attend hearings by the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee looking into the anomalies linked to him. He has also backed down from a public debate with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, one of his chief accusers.
Binay, who was Makati mayor for several terms, believes the accusations against him were part of a well-funded demolition job by his political rivals to diminish his chances of winning in 2016.
During Friday’s event, Binay was most applauded when he expressed support to the proposed revision of the Salary Standardization Law, which will provide an increase in the salary of government employees. —KBK, GMA News
