Binay’s Aguinaldo

Money received from benefactors during Christmas in the Philippines is called “aguinaldo”, a term and practice imported from Mexico during the Spanish colonial period. where it refered to the annual Christmas bonus given to employees. In the Philippines, it is generically used to describe monetary gifts given by all benefactors, including godparents and employers.
Like every “presidentiable”, Vice President Jojo Binay is also expecting aguinaldos from his wealthy financial supporters. But he is also counting on another kind of “Aguinaldo” from the Philippine Supreme Court that will allow him to succeed President Aquino as the next president of the republic..
Binay is presently facing two plunder cases for the overpricing of the New Makati City Parking Building (P2.33 billion pesos) and the Makati Science High School Building (P1.33 billion pesos) and for allegedly being the real owner of “Hacienda Binay” a 364 hectare ranch in Batangas complete with its own air-conditioned piggery.
The Ombudsman is reportedly investigating insider revelations of Binay’s foreign bank accounts that were not declared in his Statements of Assets and Liabilities (SALN). His former Vice Mayor, Ernesto Mercado, in sworn testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee, produced records of 7 foreign accounts in Hong Kong banks, 3 of which were under the “care of” Eduviges Baloloy, Binay’s long-time aide. Deposits in these 3 accounts reached a total of US$ 71,481,95 (1996) and HK$957,912.93 (1996 and 1998).
The Ombudsman will likely ask the assistance of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to scrutinize Baloloy’s bank records and any transfers of funds to Binay. This tracing of funds was successfully used during the impeachment of former chief justice Renato Corona where the Ombudsman and the AMLC tracked Corona’s multiple bank accounts and numerous transactions involving amounts of P500,000 and above.
Binay can claim that, as vice-president, he can only be removed by impeachment, a long process that is unlikely to be completed by the time of the May 2016 presidential elections. But even if criminal charges are filed against him by the Department of Justice or plunder charges by the Ombudsman, the Philippine judicial process will take years to resolve.
When Binay’s wife, Dr. Elenita Binay, was mayor of Makati in 2001, criminal charges were filed against her in connection with the irregular procurement of hospital beds worth P36.43 million for the Ospital ng Makati. It has taken more than 13 years for the case to even be set for trial last November 30 but even that was postponed again as Dr. Binay’s lawyers who filed yet another motion to further delay the proceedings.
But if criminal and plunder charges are filed against Vice President Binay, the case will undoubtedly go to the Philippine Supreme Court where Binay, a skilled and experienced lawyer, will count on the Philippine Supreme Court to dismiss all the charges against him on the basis its previous unanimous decision involving Col. Rodolfo Aguinaldo.
Col. Aguinaldo was reportedly one of the worst violators of human rights during the Marcos dictatorship although he was never criminally charged in court for any of his offenses.
After the fall of Marcos, Aguinaldo joined the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) renegade forces of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Gringo Honasan and attempted to topple the government of President Cory Aquino in 1989.
Prior to his involvement in the failed coup, Aguinaldo ran for governor of Cagayan province in January of 1988. In a New York Times article about his candidacy that was published just before the elections (“Renegade Officer Seeks Philippine Governorship” January 18, 1988), Aguinaldo described to a New York Times reporter what he would do to anyone who tries to disarm his 1,400 renegade troops:
‘’They just start trying to disarm my men and I hit their houses and I wipe them out. At a given signal, we chop off the heads of anybody who is foolish. We will send them straight to hell, from the grandfather to the grandson.’’
Needless to say, no one dared to disarm Aguinaldo’s men and he was easily elected to a four-year term as governor.
Because of his active involvement in the December 1989 coup attempt, Cory Aquino’s Secretary of Local Government Luis Santos issued an order removing Aguinaldo from his post as Ca wgayan governor. Aguinaldo appealed the ruling and, while the appeal was pending in court, ran for reelection in May of 1992 and easily won again. He then filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him on the basis of his reelection.
On August 21, 1992, in the case of Aguinaldo v. Santos, the Philippine Supreme Court decided unanimously in favor of Aguinaldo. Invoking the precedent of Hechanova v. Lizares, the Court ruled:
“The Court should never remove a public officer for acts done prior to his present term of office. To do otherwise would be to deprive the people of their right to elect their officers. When a people have elected a man to office, it must be assumed that they did this with the knowledge of his life and character, and that they disregarded or forgave his fault or misconduct, if he had been guilty of any. It is not for the Court, by reason of such fault or misconduct, to practically overrule the will of the people.”
http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1992/aug1992/gr_94115_1992.html
If Binay is charged with plunder, he will still run for president while his case is proceeding through the laboriously long judicial process. After he is elected president, his lawyers will file a motion to dismiss all the charges against him on the basis of the Aguinaldo precedent.
The people were aware of the numerous criminal and plunder charges against Binay and he was still elected. Since the voters “disregarded or forgave his fault or misconduct”. how can the Supreme Court then “practically overrule the will of the people”?
The Aguinaldo precedent is an egregiously bad decision that encourages criminals to run for office to absolve themselves of any criminal charges. The Philippine culture of impunity is embedded in Philippine law.
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