
MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – It’s a clear case of big sister trying to protect little brother.
We’ve all heard about house arrest and hospital arrest. Both are forms of incaceration in lieu of jail, mostly accorded to political prisoners. Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo comes to mind. She continues to be under hospital arrest for corruption charges.
Now, Senator Nancy Binay has proposed legislation that would institute office arrest for politicians like her brother, Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay.
The younger Binay has camped out (or in) for the third straight day since the Office of the Ombudsman issued a suspension order against him. The order was issued over alleged overpricing in the controversial Makati City Hall Building II.
The mayor is questioning the six-month suspension order and has been holing up at city hall since Wednesday. He has said the order from the Office of the Ombudsman — a Constitutional body independent of Malacañang — is motivated by politics. He could face contempt charges if he continues to defy the orde of the Ombudsman.
Binay’s supporters have been staying outside the city hall since the suspension order was issued and have been given free take-out dinners.
In proposing the new legislation, Nancy Binay admitted it was in anticipation of her brother’s eventual arrest.
“My brother has been put into office by the people of Makati, so he has the obligation to continue to perform his duties as mayor, regardless of what the Ombudsman says,” the junior senator told reporters. “Office arrest is the most appropriate form of incarceration for Junjun,” she added.
Informed sources told The Adobo Chronicles that the Binays’ father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, has offered to pay for the construction of an annex to the Makati City Mayor’s office that would include a bedroom, kitchen and a jacuzzi in order to make his son’s offfice arrest more comfortable.