VP Binay apologizes to KBP for retreating from debate

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday apologized to Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas for backing out of the debate supposedly on November 27 with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

 

"I know you have prepared for this, you have prepared your members... Pero ganoon po ang pangyayari. Sorry, hindi po tayo matutuloy sa harapang iyon," Binay told members of the KBP at an event in Tagaytay.

 

Binay reiterated that he backed out of the debate after Trillanes claimed that the Vice President had a distinct advantage because he was a lawyer.

 

Binay said he would have been called an opportunist if he went on with the debate.

"So para wala na po tayong ganoong conclusion pa, ayaw ko na."

 

Trillanes, for his part, has said he was expecting Binay's announcement, but was still disappointed about it.

 

"Disappointed po tayo pero also inaasahan na natin 'yan. Kasi alam niyo, ever since hindi napanghahawakan ang salita ni Vice President Binay. This will totally destroy his credibility. Hindi na talaga natin siya mapagkakatiwalaan," he said.

 

On Tuesday, Binay said he was backing out of the debate with Trillanes.

 

KBP president Herman Basbaño said the group understood Binay's decision.

 

"We just have to respect that... We have to respect the decision of the Vice President," Basbaño said.

 

Binay in October challenged Trillanes to a public debate after saying some senators have prejudged him as the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee investigated the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II . The building project was bidded out during Binay's term as city mayor.

Trillanes accepted the challenge. —NB, GMA News