MANILA, Philippines -The Office of the Ombudsman revived a case dismissed in 2011 against Elenita Binay over alleged overpricing of a project, prompting her husband, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to cry "harassment."
"The complaint was filed 10 years ago. It was dismissed by the Ombudsman more than two years ago. But the Special Prosecutor decided to reinstate my wife without even informing her. These are glaring acts of abuse of authority and violation of her rights," Binay said in a statement on Wednesday.
"This is harassment," Binay added.
The Special Prosecutor reinstated my wife w/out even informing her. These are glaring acts of abuse of authority & violation of her rights.
— Jejomar C. Binay (@VPJojoBinay) January 29, 2014 Binay believes that the case is part of the black propaganda against him and his family to dampen their chances in the 2016 national elections.
Elenita, meanwhile, was charged along with several Makati city officials for the suspected overpricing of hospital beds at the Makati Hospital. The case was initially dismissed for lack of evidence.
Binay also said that he was made aware of some cases being cooked up against them to be filed before the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit. Preliminary copies of which were already leaked to the media, he said.
"By raising these issues, the operators are merely exposing their desperation ... These recycled issues have remained unproven and unsubstantiated by evidence since the 1980s for one simple reason: they are complete falsehoods," he added.
Binay lamented "dirty politics" played against him instead of working towards the country's progress alongside President Benigno Aquino III.
"It would have been more productive to channel all these effort to helping our President achieve his noble objective of improving the lives of the people. But for some groups and individuals, the welfare of the people will have to take a backseat to politics, the discredited type of politics that we were supposed to have abandoned three years ago," he said.
The vice president, however, said he will not be fazed by the mudslinging and will work on the welfare of the overseas Filipino workers.