Binay files libel raps vs Mercado anew

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay made good on his promise to subject his political detractors to legal action.

On Friday, the opposition leader and United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) chairman filed yet another libel charge against a former ally, ex-Makati City vice mayor Ernesto Mercado stemming from another allegation that the latter hurled against Binay in the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee hearings.

Lawyer Claro Certeza said that the latest charge “aims to prove that Mercado was lying when he maliciously, falsely and feloniously accused the Vice President of extorting condo units from developers amounting to 60 to 70 percent of all the condo buildings in Makati.”

Developers’ denial “This claim has been publicly belied by the developers themselves. It only shows that Mercado is a pathological liar and has zero credibility,” he said.

SM Development Corp., Megaworld Corp., Robinsons Land Corp., Rockwell Land Corp., and Eton Properties released separate statements denying they awarded condominium units for free to Binay or his family, the lawyer noted.

The nine-page libel complaint was filed before the Makati Prosecutors’ Office.

BSP deal yarn Last week, the Binay camp lodged libel charges against Mercado in connection with his damaging claim on the Boy Scouts of the Philippines’ (BSP) transaction with property developer Alphaland.

Mercado, who is the godfather to former Makati mayor Binay’s children, claimed that his former friend earned a kickback of 651 million from the BSP-Alphaland deal. Binay is the BSP national president.

Mercado was also among the many respondents of a 200-million damage suit filed last month by Certeza, also in Makati.

Certeza said that the presidential aspirant Binay is serious in wanting to face his mudslingers in the proper forum–the courts.

“The series of libel complaints filed by the Vice President show his commitment to answer and refute the accusations against him in the proper forum in accordance with the rule of law,” he said upon filing the charge on the condominium issue.