Rough and tumble politics

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 18 Mar 2015 by Romeo Bernardo

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We would have brushed aside as parochial the drama that has unfolded in the City of Makati were it not for the personalities involved. As it is, the situation where two people are claiming to be the lawful mayor has become a test of wills of sorts between the two leading contenders for the presidency in 2016. Now entering its second week, the standoff started last Wednesday when the Office of the Ombudsman, the country's graftbuster, issued a six-month preventive suspension against the city mayor, the son and namesake of the Vice President, Jejomar Binay. The suspension order followed graft charges filed against father and son over alleged overpricing of a parking building in the city, the same case that set in motion the Senate probe into claims of corruption against the VP last year. Immediately after learning of his suspension, the younger Binay holed himself up in city hall as he sought court intervention against the suspension. A three-man Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) Monday afternoon. Responsible for enforcing the suspension order is the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) headed by Secretary Mar Roxas, who many believe will be President Aquino’s personal choice to succeed him in 2016. With the mayor’s supporters camped outside city hall preventing their entry, DILG personnel, escorted by thousands of policemen, only managed to post the suspension order on the wall of the building Monday morning, after which the vice mayor, a party mate of Secretary Roxas, was sworn in as acting mayor. This happened a mere three hours ahead of the TRO. Both sides are now claiming to be on the right side of the law, with the other mayo...