By Kim Arveen Patria
Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
Balsy Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay attends the wreath laying in commemoration of 27th death anniversary of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. at Cory and Ninoy Aquino monument in Manila, Philippines, 21 August 2010. (Jerome Ascano/NPPA Images)
Top officials have rushed to the defense of presidential sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, who is being dragged into a controversy over a government deal.
No less than Vice President Jejomar Binay defended Cruz, the eldest sister of President Benigno Aquino, against what he said was a “demolition job.”
“I am inclined to believe that this is a demolition job,” the Vice President noted in statement Friday.
“I have known Ballsy and her husband for a long time, and I can personally vouch for their integrity,” he added.
Binay was referring to rumors which claimed the President’s sister and her husband Eldon Cruz tried to extort some $30 million from a contractor.
The couple was allegedly involved in transactions with a Czech company which is keen on winning a contract for the Metro Rail Transit.
“Kilala ko ang pamilya ni Pangulong Cory… Wala silang bahid ng korupsyon at abuso sa kapangyarihan (I know the family of President Cory… They are not marred by corruption of abuse of power),” Binay said further.
The Binays and Aquinos have stood in opposite sides of the political fence, in the past two elections, but analysts have noted that the families remain allies.http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/parallaxis/all-under-one-roof.html
Malacanang earlier called the rumor against Cruz malicious, noting that the President’s sister and her husband were never involved in government affairs.
“I can only think of two or three times, or four times they were here for the whole three years that their brother has assumed the presidency,” Lacierda said.
He added: “We know for a fact that they carry the legacy of the names of their parents. It’s a very precious legacy that they have been holding.”
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