Standoff ends; Binay to seek TRO vs 'illegal oust' directive

(Updated 1 am) Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay told the Department of the Interior and Local Government that he would "honor" Monday his 60-day preventive suspension order that was served on him by the department Friday night. With this development, GMA News' Saksi reported that Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado would act as acting mayor of the city while the Office of the Ombudsman, which ordered the DILG to serve the suspension order, is investigating Binay. But newspaper reports quoted Binay as saying he is still mayor, vowing to contest before the Court of Appeals what he called an "illegal order from the Arroyo administration." During his meeting with Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus, Binay explained he cannot accept the order on Friday night because it was impossible to seek judicial recourse as the courts and government offices were already closed for the weekend. Binay told Corpus to come back on Monday, promising he will personally receive the order at 8 am. Corpus agreed. He later told reporters that the DILG has virtually served the suspension on Binay. But he quickly clarified that the "deal" would take effect Monday. Binay, however, said he plans to beat the DILG by filing a temporary restraining order before the Court of Appeals. The Makati standoff also stirred the Commission on Elections. Chairman Benjamin Abalos said he would study the legality of the DILG's suspension order, hinting that the poll body might have been bypassed by the department. During election period, the Comelec assumes a superior control of local government, police and military functions. "I will look into it because this is happening within the election period when suspension procedures of government officials should pass to us if this is administrative cases," Abalos told GMA News in an interview. Under the Comelec Resolution 7707, suspension of public officials is banned from January 14 until June 30. The new suspension order stemmed from the grave misconduct case filed against Binay by Oscar Ibay, a former councilor of the city and reportedly a critic of the Makati mayor. Ibay had earlier filed a plunder case against Binay before the Ombudsman for the unpaid withholding taxes of city hall employees since 1999, which amounted to P1.1 billion. Tension gripped the Makati City Hall around 9 p.m. after word spread that a suspension order was to be served on Binay. QTV-11 television reported that busloads of armed police "secured" the building while Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operatives went inside. Some pieces of property of the building were destroyed when police stormed the city hall, angering Binay during an inspection. Binay entered the City Hall building at 9 pm, while Rep. Teodoro Locsin entered the building 30 minutes later. Binay's supporters surrounded the building to defend the mayor. Binay claimed he received information that representatives of the DILG, along with the police, would serve the preventive suspension order on him. Police have secured the ground floor of the city hall but have pulled out around 10 pm when Corpus and Binay started their meeting, the report added. As soon as police left, some 2,000 Binay supporters arrived and set up barricades at the main entrance of the building. Radio DZBB reported that chants of "Binay," "Binay," "Binay" echoed through the city hall compound. Some candidates of the Genuine Opposition led by Aquilino “Koko" Pimentel III were seen at the city hall. The speculations came barely two days after the Bureau of Internal Revenue froze the assets of City Hall over the city government's supposed failure to pay taxes. The opposition branded the move as harassment.- GMANews.TV