Sandigan OKs Binay couple’s trip to Israel

The Sandiganbayan yesterday granted the separate motions of former vice president Jejomar Binay Sr. and his wife Elenita to travel to Israel for 15 days for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

In a decision Wednesday, the anti-graft court’s Third Division directed Binay to post a travel bond of P752,000 as prerequisite for the trip – a requirement that one of his lawyers complied with yesterday afternoon.

The court also subjected Binay to a conditional arraignment. After Binay refused to enter any plea, the Sandigan entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf in accordance with court rules.

Binay is facing nine counts of falsification of public documents, four counts of graft and one count of malversation of public funds in connection with the alleged overpriced construction of the P2.2-billion Makati City Hall Building II, also referred as the Makati parking building.

Meanwhile, in separate decisions issued by the Sandiganbayan Third, Fourth and Fifth Divisions, Elenita was also allowed to go on a trip.

Elenita has a total of P660,000 unwithdrawn travel bonds before the three divisions and was no longer required to post a new bond. She is facing two counts of graft and two counts of malversation of public funds before the Third Division in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of hospital beds worth P36.43 million in 2001 and autoclave sterilizers worth P8.83 million in 2000 for Ospital ng Makati or OsMak during her term as city mayor.

Her graft case before the Fifth Division stemmed from the alleged anomalous purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P72.06 million in 1999 after an alleged rigged bidding.

The Fourth Division last year dismissed a graft case against Elenita also in connection with the purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P13.25 million from December 1999 to February 2000. The Office of the Ombudsman, however, filed a motion for reconsideration, which the court has yet to resolve.

The couple was allowed to leave the country on May 15 and to return on May 29.

In the motions they earlier filed before the court divisions, the Binays said they intend to go on a “spiritually charged pilgrimage” to Israel’s religious places including Mount Carmel, Nazareth, Cana, Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Mount Tabor, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, among others.

The Binays, required to report to the court within five days from their return, said their children, in-laws and grandchildren would also join them in the trip.