Kaban ni D_BystandeR: DILI NA MABANGBANG SI VP BINAY

I read a column of somebody who claimed his longtime friends in the Philippines are all "under the payroll" of Mar Roxas to make massive campaign to deodorize and revive Mar's stale image and sagging winnability. And I am not surprised  because that guy's column lately in a weekly news that's having wide circulation in Chicago and suburbs is now mouthing the same boring lines of tirades against Binay that's bordering in libelous pronouncements. And you cannot expect these  people to stop their boring storylines of hatred against VP Binay because they are propelled by a well-funded, well-orchestrated campaign to malign and destroy the good name of VP Binay to discourage him from his lofty dreams and ambition to  serve his country and people as the next Malacanang caretaker in 2016. And from the looks of it, I could see that Jojo Binay has already made a vow that no matter what his political detractors are doing he has already decided that there is no more turning back for him. And with his lofty dreams to serve his countrymen, we can always expect that people with such strong determination to do good things for his countrymen will always succeed. After all, it's really hard to put a good man  down!

I cannot understand most of the people's comment against VP Binay is a malignant sign  that "bad men with bad habits" have never changed since the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross in Mount Golgota. Now that Christmas is still in the air, we are supposed to show our goodness in character and of the heart to our fellowmen. But look! What most  people are posting are lines expressing their dark characters and I doubt if these people still have souls with them. And I remember the same situation when Mary Magdalene was  insulted and ridiculed by people of doubtful characters when Jesus told them, "Let him cast the first stone among you who finds himself clean." And each one in the group disappeared one by one because they know all of them are sinners!

The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigating the alleged overpriced Makati Building 2 that has morphed into alleged hidden properties and wealth of VP Binay, ordered two of the VP's executives of his party, the Unitied Nationalist Alliance, UNA interim president Toby Tiangco and UNA Sec.-Gen. lawyer JV Bautista barred from the hearing, saying they were not invited to the hearing, preventing them from participating and providing proof that their witness so-called whistle-blower former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado had been lying throughout the probe. Mercado was also present in the hearing although he was neither invited nor summoned by the senate, yet he was allowed to sit at the resource person's place and not ordered out of the hearing room. It will be recalled that during the hearing on Oct. 22, 2014, Mercado denied he was hospitalized and said he will have all his testimonies removed if the camp of VP Binay can show proof he stayed in a hospital. UNA interim Sec.-Gen. Bautista on Thursday presented evidence showing that Mercado has been lying to the Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing. The two (Bautista and Tiangco) presented Mercado's medical records to the media after the three members of the subcommittee (Pimentel, Trillanes and Cayetano) threw them out during Thursday's hearing.  Medical records dated Oct. 1, 2014 and Oct. 4, 2014 from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center showed that a 61-year-old patient named Ernesto Mercado was treated for heart ailment, contrary to the former VM who claimed in his earlier testimony that he was not at all hospitalized at that time. "Now, if the VP can prove that I (Mercado) was hospitalized in any clinic or hospital in the entire Philippines, I am willing to have my testimonies in the hearing stricken out, since it can be said that I am a liar," Mercado told the Blue Ribbon Committee under oath on Oct. 22, 2014. Bautista said Mercado lied when he said that the farm in Rosario, Batangas was 350 hectares when it was only 145 hectares according to Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp. Mercado also lied when he said that he was the one who took the aerial footage of the said farm on-board a helicopter when in fact it was Sen. Cayetano's staff who took the footage. He also lied when he said that the piggery was air-conditioned," said Bautista. He also lied to the subcommittee when he accused Binay of owning a log cabin in Tagaytay Highlands; Belle Corp. has already refuted his claim," Bautista added.  The UNA officials said that it was the responsibility of the subcommittee to test the credibility of the witnesses. "But clearly this hearing is one-sided and the three senators will only hear what they want to hear. This is not a forum where the VP can air his side. This a forum for Mercado's lies," Bautista said. Also, the architect whom Mercado named as the one who had designed a rest house on a farm estate in Rosario, Batangas purportedly owned by Binay's family has vehemently denied the claim, saying his signature on the supposed design proposal was forged. In an affidavit executed yesterday Oct. 30, 2014, Bongato (Architect Rodulfo Bongato to JCB Farms, Inc. on Sept. 10, 1997) has been reported on a front page story of a yesterday's issue on a national daily and presented by Mercado at the senate hearing. In an affidavit, Bongato attested that he never submitted such a proposal and that it was "obviously a forgery" as the signature that appears above his name "is not even remotely similar to my real signature." "I have never designed a rest house for JCB Farms in Rosario, Batangas or in any other location. The signature over my printed name as appearing in the proposal is not mine. It is clear forgery as I have never signed the same," Bongato stated.

Footnote: This comment came out in connection with a news item that came  out in PDI entitled, "UNA expects more Senate telenovela of 'lies' in 2015." It came out on December 31, 2014.