“The trouble with political jokes is that they get elected.” So goes the old joke about Philippine politicians, but finding an honest one in this deeply Christian country – thou shall not steal – is a tough assignment indeed.
The latest to fall is Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr, mayor of the exclusive Makati City in Metro Manila. He was arrested after being cited for contempt by the country’s senate blue ribbon committee, which is looking into alleged anomalous contracts in his city.
Binay refused at attend three hearings to answer allegations of plunder for alleged overpricing of a city building .
He repeated that he would not talk to the senate despite the his arrest. As usual, in such cases in the Philippines, the mayor slammed the proceedings, saying they were politically motivated, biased and unfair against his family.
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Mayor Binay is the son of the county’s vice-president, Jejomar Erwin Binay Sr, who is also being investigated for corruption on a massive scale. For 20 years, he was the mayor of Makati City. He’s been named in several of the cases against his son, along with a number of city officials.
Despite the huge amount of negative publicity about the vice-president, he is still the front runner in next year’s presidential elections. As one Catholic priest said recently: “Heaven help us.”
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