Vice President Jejomar Binay is being subjected to criticisms and bashing by those who are also aspiring for higher positions, like Senators Alan Cayetano and Trillanes.
Some say that this is a natural consequence of Binay’s announcement of his intention to run for president in 2016.
This is the usual treatment that follows those who announce early their presidential ambitions. Opponents try their best to destroy his chances of winning.
The Senate is investigating Binay for the alleged overpriced Makati City building which was built with a whopping budget of P 2.2 billion.
The Binays describe it as a world-class building, but the former Makati vice mayor testified that he received money during the construction, and surmised that Binay must have, too.
Another person testified in the senate committee hearing that Binay, during his stint as mayor, gave him P200,000 to rig the bidding. So far, we have not heard the vice president directly answering the valid questions raised by the senators, except in one press conference where he said that this is part of the politicking by his possible opponents.
That may be true, but to kill the talk about corruption, it is best for the vice president and his family to answer squarely the accusations put forth by his opponents.
I’m sure the vice president can survive the accusations. He’s a lawyer who experienced similar treatment from the former president. Binay is a veteran politician. I’m pretty sure he can hurdle these challenges with flying colors.
Now, will these accusations and investigation affect his chances in 2016? This depends on how the vice president handles it. Let’s see how effective is the damage control from his camp.
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As of today, six local treasurer’s offices were burglarized, with a substantial amount of money (and one laptop) stolen by robbers. It looks like the handiwork of insiders.
What are the plans of these local government units to prevent similar incidents?
What is important is for LGUs to learn from these crimes and avoid a repeat by being pro-active.
Local leaders and the police should come up with an innovative approach to prevent and solve the robberies.
We know that many of the treasurer’s offices are located near police stations. Knowing this, I think criminals believe these local government units are overconfident that they are unlikely robbery targets.
Local fiscal officers should not allow big sums of cash to be left at the treasurer’s office just like what happened in Toledo City where a P6 million payroll was kept.
The police should also be aggressive in crime prevention measures, especially now that local government offices are new targets for an easy robbery.