Sen. Nancy Binay on Thursday said she is contemplating on filing an ethics complaint against Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano after they traded barbs on the supposed P8.9-billion New Senate Building (NSB), whose contact price rose to P23.3 billion.
Binay said she will talk to her staff and check with her legal team if there is still a need to file a complaint in the Committee on Ethics chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino.
Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Accounts that oversees the construction of the NSB, along with Senate President Francis Escudero questioned the spike in the budgetary cost estimates of the building construction.
Binay was then the chairperson of the Accounts Committee when the construction of the NSB started.
In last Wednesday’s hearing, Binay, who was allowed by Cayetano to attend and participate in the proceedings despite being a non-committee member, walked out after a heated argument with the committee chair.
Cayetano took potshots at Binay and taunted that her name is Lourdes and not Maritess after the latter stressed that one who is reacting is guilty, referring to him. “Maritess” is a term referring to a person who engages in rumor-mongering or peddling lies.
Escudero previously halted the NSB construction after Cayetano recommended a review of the budget cost and other matters for the building construction.