Nancy Binay willing to meet Alan Cayetano in conciliation meeting

Senator Nancy Binay on Friday said she is willing to meet Senator Alan Peter Cayetano in a conciliation meeting as part of the new procedures of the Senate ethics and privileges committee.

"If a conciliation meeting is part of the process to officially tackle the ethics case that I filed against Senator Cayetano, then I am willing to submit to the new rules adopted by the committee. Kung iyon ang kailangan unahin bilang bahagi ng proseso, susunod po tayo," Binay said in a statement.

(If it will be part of the process, then I will comply.)

She added that she is not closing her doors in reconciling with Cayetano.

"Sa usapin ng pag-aayos, sino ba naman ako para magsara ng pintuan? Likas po sa pagiging Kristiyano ang maging mapagpatawad. For the Lord is a compassionate God, but He is also a God of justice," she said.

(On reconciliation, who am I to close my doors to that? Forgiving is part of being a Christian.)

On Thursday, Cayetano described the planned conciliation process between him and Binay as a "good idea," but said he won't be distracted in reviewing the New Senate Building's cost.

The Senate ethics and privileges committee recently approved an amendment to its rule where a reconciliation process will be held before conducting the hearings on a filed complaint.

According to Senator Francis Tolentino, the panel's chairperson, a closed-door conciliation meeting will be held once the new rule takes effect.

This reconciliation process between Binay and Cayetano was earlier suggested by Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero.

Binay earlier filed an ethics complaint against Cayetano over his "unparliamentary conduct" during an inquiry into the cost of the New Senate Building (NSB).

During the said hearing, Cayetano called Binay "marites," a popular slang term among Filipinos for a rumor-monger; told her "Nabuang ka na, 'day (You've gone crazy);" and accused her of disturbing the Senate hearing.

Cayetano launched the inquiry into the New Senate Building after Escudero ordered a review of the cost of its construction, noting that funding has already reached P23 billion.

Binay, who walked out of the Senate committee on accounts hearing on July 3, said that the construction cost has reached P21 billion, not P23 billion as claimed by Cayetano. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News