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| Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay |
MANILA,
Philippines–Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay on Monday said the sensible thing to do
is to push the filing of impeachment against Vice President Binay for his
participation in the alleged overpriced Makati City parking building.
Salceda
said given that accusations were piling up in a Senate inquiry that has
diverted public attention from urgent issues, the impeachment case will
possibly provide further documented transactions.
Salceda
told the press the impeachment process would put closure to the issue being
thrown to Binay and refocus to urgent issues, such as countryside growth and
urban traffic woes.
He
seconded that since the Senate hearing on the allegedly overpriced
P2.28-billion, 11-story building was expected to lead to the filing of an
impeachment complaint, the case should be resolved then.
Salceda
said Binay should likely be open to the impeachment process, since the
President himself faced impeachment complaints that were eventually junked by
the House justice committee.
“We’re
interested in the results of the investigation. But if you ask me—a lad from
the province who regularly travels to Manila—from a cosmopolitan point of view,
my judgment call is really for that (him) to be impeached,” Salceda said.
Testifying
at the Senate hearing, an appraiser placed the cost of the Makati building at
only P700 million using the cost of Grade A structures in the vicinity.
Meanwhile,
President Aquino on Monday in his visit to Davao, clarified the allegations
that the Vice President had pocketed huge sums in connection with the
construction of the car park building.
“At the end of the day, the truth will set us
all free,” Aquino said.
Aquino added he had no “knowledge as to the
veracity of the accusations” against Binay, a front-runner in the 2016
presidential election based on recent surveys.
