When Sen. Francis Escudero came out in the nick of time batting for then vice presidential aspirant Jejomar Binay in 2010, he probably did not realize what nightmare he was going to inflict upon the entire nation. Thanks to him, Binay is now entrenched so deeply it would take a gigantic backhoe to remove him from the political landscape.
Did Escudero have no inkling whatsoever at that time about the kleptocracy that was going on in Makati City in the hands of the Binay dynasty? Did he not even wonder how their “from rags to super riches” life story ever came about? Did he not know that honest-to-goodness public service never made anyone a multimillionaire, let alone a billionaire? How naïve could he be?
Escudero, of course, has had a change of heart (no pun intended). He was pissed off that the Vice President kept skirting the issues about corruption, currently the subject of an ongoing investigation in the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee. Seemingly surprised, he asked, “Where’s fighting ‘Rambotito’ with Uzi?” (“Front Page,” 10/11/14), bewildered by Binay’s “clamming up” in the face of “mounting charges of corruption against him.” Binay was called Rambotito (even clad in fatigues!) since he seemed like one to stand his ground no matter what the odds were. So, why was he slinking away from the Senate probe like a coward?
“Binay shouldn’t hide behind bank secrecy law,” Escudero said more recently (Inquirer.net, 5/13/15). Well, to one of our favorite senators, we say: Too little, too late! A snow flake has a better chance in the Sahara desert than any hope that Binay would ever come clean! It’s now full-speed ahead for the man whose ambitions and avarice know no bounds, and damn the torpedoes! He has become an irresistible force—not even 10 Grace Poes can stop him from occupying Malacañang come 2016! And yes, we have joined the ranks of critics who are blaming Escudero for that. The guy who many believed was trustworthy is, alas, such a poor judge of character!
—CHIN CHIN KATIGBAK, cckatigbak@yahoo.com.ph