Photo Credits: Chris T. Herman
What will VP Binay Say Today?
As Typhoon Luis pummels the country today, political watchers and even public relations executives like us are closely watching another political storm and today’s question is: What Vice President Binay will say in defense against accusations of allegedly overpricing in the construction of the P2.7-billion Makati Parking Building Project.
The country’s second highest official has promised to finally come out today to face the controversial issue squarely. This, after weeks of either evading or dismissing the issue as a political demolition job, something that placed him and his family at the losing end of the perception war.
VP Binay’s defense is every public relations executive’s nightmare, given the seemingly convincing issues raised at the series of hearings in the Philippine Senate the past three weeks. It is a big challenge too for VP Binay's spin doctors -- if they can pull it off.
Thus, today as a political watcher and Filipino taxpayer, I’ve come out with possible scenario for VP’s defense:
1) Admit wrongdoing (an unlikely scenario for an astute lawyer like VP Binay – it’s also a political and criminal hara-kiri).
2) Admit that there could have been overpricing but that he did not know anything about it and that he too is a victim of a cartel of corrupt officials working in collusion with alleged favored contractor Hilmarks Construction.
3) As he already did in the past, blame everything on his former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, former bidding officer Mario Hachenova and former City Engineer Nestor Morales, anyway the guy is dead and can’t speak in his defense.
4) Put forward Commission on Audit officials as well as experts from the engineering, architecture and real estate industries to say that the building is not overpriced and stick to the argument that it was constructed near a river, thus jacking up the construction price.
5) Say there is a Yamashita Treasure buried deep in the ground of the building and that its walls and portals are made of gold.
6) Say there’s nuggets of golf hidden as a surprise treat inside the cakes given to senior citizens on their birthdays, thus it costs P1,000 each and that is where the overprice cost for the building went to.
7) Say private builders in Makati – like the 44-floor, green certified Zuellig building (and which costs lower than the Makati Parking Building) – conspired to construct buildings at ridiculously low prices in order to embarrass and shoot down VP Binay’s presidential ambitions.
Actually, strategies 5, 6 and 7 are fairy tale spins, but who knows anything is possible among spin doctors in our public relations world.
How about you, what reasons can you put forward for VP Binay’s defense?
As Typhoon Luis pummels the country today, political watchers and even public relations executives like us are closely watching another political storm and today’s question is: What Vice President Binay will say in defense against accusations of allegedly overpricing in the construction of the P2.7-billion Makati Parking Building Project.
The country’s second highest official has promised to finally come out today to face the controversial issue squarely. This, after weeks of either evading or dismissing the issue as a political demolition job, something that placed him and his family at the losing end of the perception war.
VP Binay’s defense is every public relations executive’s nightmare, given the seemingly convincing issues raised at the series of hearings in the Philippine Senate the past three weeks. It is a big challenge too for VP Binay's spin doctors -- if they can pull it off.
Thus, today as a political watcher and Filipino taxpayer, I’ve come out with possible scenario for VP’s defense:
1) Admit wrongdoing (an unlikely scenario for an astute lawyer like VP Binay – it’s also a political and criminal hara-kiri).
2) Admit that there could have been overpricing but that he did not know anything about it and that he too is a victim of a cartel of corrupt officials working in collusion with alleged favored contractor Hilmarks Construction.
3) As he already did in the past, blame everything on his former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, former bidding officer Mario Hachenova and former City Engineer Nestor Morales, anyway the guy is dead and can’t speak in his defense.
4) Put forward Commission on Audit officials as well as experts from the engineering, architecture and real estate industries to say that the building is not overpriced and stick to the argument that it was constructed near a river, thus jacking up the construction price.
5) Say there is a Yamashita Treasure buried deep in the ground of the building and that its walls and portals are made of gold.
6) Say there’s nuggets of golf hidden as a surprise treat inside the cakes given to senior citizens on their birthdays, thus it costs P1,000 each and that is where the overprice cost for the building went to.
7) Say private builders in Makati – like the 44-floor, green certified Zuellig building (and which costs lower than the Makati Parking Building) – conspired to construct buildings at ridiculously low prices in order to embarrass and shoot down VP Binay’s presidential ambitions.
Actually, strategies 5, 6 and 7 are fairy tale spins, but who knows anything is possible among spin doctors in our public relations world.
How about you, what reasons can you put forward for VP Binay’s defense?
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