Final warning given to Binay son on possible arrest

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee, issued on Friday his final call on Makati Mayor Erwin Binay to attend the Senate hearings on the corruption allegations against his family.

In a statement, Guingona said the mother committee will not tolerate Binay and the Makati officials' refusal to heed the summons of the Blue Ribbon subcommittee led by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.

Guingona said the Blue Ribbon Committee has the power to order the arrest and detention of the younger Binay and of the Makati officials.

"I make this final call as an effort on my part to avert a situation where the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee would have to issue an arrest order for Mayor Binay and other officials concerned," Guingona said.

"This is a final call. I express the hope that the sound counsel of friends and colleagues would encourage Mayor Binay and other parties concerned to heed the summons of the Subcommittee," he added.

Guingona said the Blue Ribbon Committee will meet on Monday to decide on its  next move.

"It is also my hope that Mayor Binay would have taken the more prudent step of heeding and respecting the summons by then," he said.

The Blue Ribbon Subcommittee is investigating the allegedly overpriced construction of the Makati City Hall II parking building and other anomalies involving the Binays.

The Makati mayor's father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, has been accused of  pocketing kickbacks from various projects and using dummies to conceal his ill-gotten wealth.

RELATED: 'Binay used BSP kickbacks to fund 2010 campaign'

The younger Binay attended only one of the 13 Senate hearings while his father rejected the Blue Ribbon Subcommittee's invitation.

The Binays have denied all the allegations against them and have maintained that the Senate investigation only seeks to derail the Vice President's political plan for 2016.

Pimentel earlier asked Guingona to cite in contempt the younger Binay and six other individuals for their consistent absence in the hearings.

Those recommended to be cited in contempt were:

• Tomas Lopez, a board member of Pag-Ibig Fund and president of the University of Makati
• Eleno Mendoza, the incumbent city administrator of Makati
• Eduviges Baloloy, said to be one of the secretaries of the Vice President when he was still mayor of Makati and allegedly handled several of the financial transactions of Binay
• Marjorie de Veyra, the former city administrator and social welfare department head of Makati
• Line dela Peña, assistant city engineer of Makati
• Bernadette Portollano, corporate secretary of OMNI Security, which is allegedly owned by the Vice President.

The lawyer of Binay and of the other Makati officials has asked the Blue Ribbon subcommittee to provide advance questions to be asked by senators during the hearings.