Binays told to follow the law

FOLLOW the law and set an example.

This was acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña’s appeal to the Binays, hours after he was sworn in yesterday for the second time as the city’s chief executive following the Office of the Ombudsman’s suspension order on Mayor Junjun Binay.

“To Vice President Jojo Binay, for the second time, I humbly ask [you] to follow the law and respect the orders handed down by the different government agencies,” Peña said in a short statement he delivered at the Old Makati City Hall building, where he was earlier sworn in by Assistant City Prosecutor Julius Ceasar Gauran.

In doing so, Peña said it would set an example not only to government employees but also to the young leaders in government, such as himself and the younger Binay, in following the rule of law.

Peña, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, was first sworn in as acting mayor in March following the Ombudsman’s suspension order on the younger Binay and other city officials for their involvement in the alleged irregularities in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II.

He stressed that the second suspension order, this time for corruption allegations in the construction of the P1.3-billion Makati Science High School building, was a way to “protect the pieces of evidence inside City Hall” as well as the testimonies of those who would like to shed light on the matter.

He made clear that his assumption as acting mayor yesterday was in accordance with the Ombudsman and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) orders.

“I was elected Makati vice mayor and along with it comes the responsibility to uphold the law, protect the city and the rights of its people,” he said.