Aquino warned against appointing Binay
MANILA, Philippines - President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's anti-corruption platform will take a major blow if he gives Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay the interior and local government post or any major role in his government, according to a Cabinet official in the administration of the late President Cory Aquino.
University of the Philippines economics professor Solita "Winnie" Monsod, in a recent BusinessWorld opinion column, said Binay's preference to be appointed secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) poses a major dilemma for Aquino, whose "main campaign battle cry" was to fight corruption.
Monsod, who served as the first director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the Aquino government, said this is because Binay has been tagged in a string of corruption-related cases, including overpricing in the building and equipment of the Makati hospital and city hall, and non-remittance of withholding taxes of Makati government employees to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
"If he (Aquino) brings in as Cabinet member one whose integrity is suspect, then from the beginning, he would be in trouble," she said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
Monsod said if the issues involving Binay were hot topics during the election campaign period, Binay would not have won, just like what happened to Sen. Manuel "Manny" Villar, who was bombarded with a slew of ethics allegations.
She also said that pending cases against Binay should be pursued despite his victory in the national polls.
Political propaganda?
Binay's camp, meanwhile, shrugged off Monsod's statements and branded these as just "political propaganda," especially since the daughter of Monsod was a former consultant of Sen. Mar Roxas, Binay's arch rival for the vice presidency.
However, Monsod said her daughter's ties to Roxas were "immaterial," and that her views about Binay are based on facts.
Lawyer JV Bautista, a Binay spokesperson, said overpricing raps against the outgoing Makati City mayor were already dismissed by the Sandiganbayan in 2006, while the case of non-remittance of withholding taxes was allegedly without basis.
Binay, for his part, said he will no longer insist on his bid to be DILG secretary, and will accept any position that will be offered by Aquino so that "I won't add to his (Aquino's) problems anymore."
Aquino, in an interview with reporters on Monday, said he has not offered any position to Binay as they have not spoken yet.
But he noted: "At the end of the day, it is my Cabinet, I am responsible for how it performs, and I think I should be accorded the right to choose who I want." - Report from Maricar Bautisa, ABS-CBN News
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Chance
I stayed in Makati before for over 3 years and I saw how Binay improved the place on top of the numerous programs, one of which were Health, Barangay Wellfare...etc.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, give him a chance...
(",)
APPOINT BINAY AS SECRETARY OF HEALTH
Binay has succesfully implemented, among others, a good HEALTH CARE PROGRAM in Makati. He can do the same in the entire country as Sec. of Health. One need be a physician to be Sec. of Health. The job of the Sec. is to formulate and implement good health policy. It requires a good managerial skill. He is not there to dianose and treat sickness but to formulate and implement policies. We have DPWH Secretaries who are not engineers. In the US, their Sec. of Health are not physicians. Why not Binay? He is a good manager. Besides, he can be ably assisted by his wife who is a physician. SO WHY NOT APPOINT BINAY AS SECRETARY OF HEALTH.
ARROVOS SPLIT-UP OPERATION
The Arrovos and their agents within the Liberal Party and the inner circle of Pres. Noynoy Aquino, this early, are deliberately sowing political intrigues to severely divide the “NEW GOVERNMENT” of Pres. Aquino and Vice Binay.
Without doubt, the impending prosecution of the Arrovos and their agent’s by the “NEW GOVERNMENT” will benefit from this divisive political distortion.
ISULONG ANG PANAHON NG TUNAY NA PAGBABAGO. IWAKSI ANG LAHAT NG BASURA NG BAYAN. MGA RIDICULOUS KAYO…
Sinong Aso? Si Binay?
Tange hindi aso. Kung ngumise lang parang ASO. Ang talagang muka nya ay MUKANG A-S-S-H-O-L-E. Ibig sabihin you always doubt his honesty. He will do all the good for the people in a very expensive way. Syempre kailangan he will do you good and projects will do him good, really good.
RE: aquino warned against appointing Binay
Solita Monsod is highly regarded and very intelligent with unquestionable integrity...PERIOD!
She knows what she is talkin about and in this matter she is just concerned about binay that everyone knows is RIDICULOUSLY AMBITIOUS!
nothing wrong with being ambitious, but its wrong if you are gonna do it by pre-empting other people and suggest what post or job you should be getting!..when CLEARLY its not your decision...
WATCH OUT FOR BINAY AND HIS MOTIVES??...YOU BET I WOULD!
@Psylom
Then I supposed that will leave us one choice on this matter. Mr. Binay is the VP, he should give the gesture that he wants to be part of the team rather than making an assumption. He knows what he is getting into from the start, it's not another way around. I think both party's will rise above all this in the end. We got to give them the benefit of the doubt to govern and resolve this minor setback if we can call it that...this a call of duty and fulfillment. Set an example for everyone.
BANK ACCOUNTS
DO NOT GIVE THE HIGHEST POSITIONS TO THOSE POLITICIANS KNOWN TO MANIPULATE THE BUDGET AND CAN'T KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF OF THE PORK BARREL.
PORK BARREL SHOULD BE ELIMINATED AND ACTUAL REPORTING OF BUDGET AFTER THE GOVT. PROJECT/S DONE (WITH ACCOUNTING OF RECEIPT/S) SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
WALANG KURAP, WALANG MAHIRAP...
Look into their bank deposits
Winnie Monsod is right, the Cabinet members should be above any suspicion of crime or corruption.
The best way is to look into their bank deposits, not only in their names, but also dummy corporations they may use.
To the banks: You know what to do. The AMLA law even requires you to look into deposits of P4 million and up that are suspicious, having no legitimate source of income, etc. It is impossible for the banks not to have seen the hundreds of millions or even billions that are pocketed each year. Unless these banks are a party to corruption themselves?
Binay clean? Gosh, even the cakes they give to Makati citizens are bought from his firms. If one digs deep enough, dirt will come out. But this has to be done objectively, and no one is exempted.
That way, we'll truly be on the road to beating corruption.
Noynoy's dillema
Noynoy's dillema.
If he gives-in to Binay, the people around him will think he is weak or he is not serious about combating corruption and some of them may start opposing him in the future because of this.
But if he doesn't, then he will hurt Binay's feelings which may lead to another Cory-Laurel or Arroyo-Guingona scenario. Binay could become his enemy and may start opposing him.
Whatever he does, there will be opposition. Welcome to the Gloria scenario.
Alright peeps
All for fun, pero what if we are wrong about Binay? After all, he did step down to run for VP in respect to Pres. Cory when Noy decided to run. Doesn't say anything about loyalty, or perhaps just a payback? I think the answer to it all is in Mr. Binay future motives....we will see.