Is Binay self-destructing?

VEEP Jojo Binay is taking a lot of heat from his withdrawal from his debate with Sen. Sonny Trillanes. If before his critics were crucifying him, now they’re roasting him alive.

The reactions to Binay’s U- turn from the debate were spontaneous and sharp. Especially in social media, which are often cruel and unrestrained because they’re uncensored.

Ergo was stunned by the Veep’s decision. It’s mind-boggling, to say the least, after all it was the vice president who had challenged Trillanes to a debate. Binay’s reputation as a fighter is getting tattered and shredded to pieces because of his inexplicable moves lately.

Many of the comments, especially those of Trillanes, were blunt and unsparing. There was talk about cowardice and a lack of a palabra de honor. Many other uncomplimentary remarks were thrown around.

But Ergo won’t participate in the intemperate language, the deluge of ridicule, against the vice president. It’s better to analyze the situation in a sober manner in an attempt to fathom Binay’s state of mind when he cancelled what had promised to be a blockbuster debate.

As Ergo has been wondering in recent columns, Binay has been showing signs that he’s befuddled by all the pressure brought to bear upon him by the seemingly inexhaustible list of charges of corruption. He can’t seem to get a handle on all that’s happening to him since the first salvo was fired by his ex-gofer and ally, former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado.

He’s been like a man drowning in the sea, this time a sea of accusations, splashing and thrashing helplessly in the water. It’s like a person who’s forgotten how to swim and is desperately trying to save himself from going down. He hasn’t come up with a plan or strategy to respond to the specific charges leveled against him.

None of his public statements so far has been convincing. None of them addresses directly any of the charges. What he’s done is to call his accusers names as his way of devaluing their accusations and destroying their reputations.

Binay’s defenders, as Ergo has pointed out more than a few times, haven’t issued anything more convincing, either. All they’ve succeeded in doing is to further muddle and confuse the issues at hand. They’ve not helped their principal any.

The conclusion that suggests itself is that the accusations against Binay are true. Else, why hasn’t he been able to counter the charges? Why hasn’t he presented any credible proof to belie the accusations? Why hasn’t he made a point-by-point effort to dismantle the seemingly damning “evidence” ladled up by his critics? Why have many of the people accused as his “partners” in crime seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth?

Is he getting conflicting advice from his advisers and family members? Why haven’t any big-time politicians come to his defense? Why hasn’t he devised a water-tight defense to exonerate himself? Why has he been evading a direct confrontation with his accusers?

His recent decisions indicate a per- son lost in a maze (sorry for the allusion to the impressive gardens in “Hacienda Binay”). He doesn’t seem to know where to go, what to say in a coherent manner, how to save himself.

For a long time, he couldn’t decide if he should attend the Senate hearings. He kept saying he was weighing his options on whether to go or not. He indicated he might go if the Blue Ribbon mother committee was the one that invited him. And when the committee did invite him, he declined after much hesitation.

And then he challenged Trillanes to a debate, which the latter readily accepted. And then his camp floated trial balloons about the inadvisability of him participating in a debate that would be a no-win for him. And then, he backed out, again with an unconvincing explanation.

Binay seems to be self-destructing practically before the people’s eyes. He has failed to project an image of a man who can be in control of any given situation, who is in command, and who is decisive. What he’s shown is a person who can be curt with questioners, who seems to decide on impulse, and who can’t make decisions and stick to them.

What he’s shown is a man who may not be able to handle the constant demands of the presidency. Who can’t decide in a calculated manner in order to come up with a well- thought- out response or stand. Who can’t be dispassionate in times of crisis, who can’t maintain grace under pressure, who can’t keep his cool and composure in order to be an effective leader.

Binay, in this time of grave crisis for him, hasn’t been able to save himself from self-destruction.