Binay wife seeks court nod for pilgrimage

MANILA, Philippines - Former Makati mayor Elenita Binay has asked the three divisions of the Sandiganbayan to allow her to go to Israel next month to join her husband, former vice president Jejomar Binay Sr., in a pilgrimage.

In separate motions filed before the anti-graft court’s Third, Fourth and Fifth Divisions, she asked to be allowed to leave the country from May 15 to 29.

Binay said she, her husband, their children, in-laws and grandchildren are set to visit several religious places during the pilgrimage in Tel Aviv, including Mount Carmel, Nazareth, Cana, Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Mount Tabor, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Binay is facing two counts of graft and two counts of malversation of public funds before the Third Division in connection with the allegedly anomalous purchase of hospital beds worth P36.43 million in 2001 and autoclave sterilizers worth P8.83 million in 2000 for Ospital ng Makati or OsMak during her term as mayor.

Her graft case before the Fifth Division stemmed from the purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P72.06 million in 1999 allegedly through rigged bidding.

The Fourth Division last year dismissed a graft case against Binay, also in connection with the purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P13.25 million from December 1999 to February 2000.

The Office of the Ombudsman, however, filed a motion for reconsideration, which the court has yet to resolve.

Binay Sr., who is also facing graft, malversation and falsification cases, before the Sandiganbayan Third Division had earlier filed his motion to travel to Israel but the court has yet to rule on his request.

The cases against Binay Sr. stemmed from the allegedly anomalous construction of the P2.2-billion Makati City Hall Building II, also referred as the Makati parking building.