Senator Nancy Binay said on Saturday, June 29, that the public hearing on the New Senate Building (NSB) would serve as an opportunity for her to air her side of the controversy surrounding its cost of construction.

"Maybe ito na yung pagkakataon para mapakinggan din ako ng pumalit sakin dahil nga up to now eh hindi pa rin sila nakikipag-usap sa akin (Maybe this is the chance for me to be heard by the one who replaced me since they have not yet spoken to me)," she said in a radio interview on DWIZ.

She was referring to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano who replaced her as chairperson of the Senate Accounts Committee. 

The Senate panel just announced that it is set to conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, July 3, as part of its commitment to ensure a prompt and impartial review of the NSB.

However, Binay said that she has yet to receive an official notice regarding the public hearing.

"As of Thursday, wala pa naman nakukuhang invite bilang miyembro pa rin ng Committee on Accounts (As of Thursday, I have not received an invitation being a member of the Committee on Accounts)," she said.

Binay and Cayetano have been having a tit-for-tat on the new Senate building in the media.

It was Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero who mentioned that there was a need to review the NSB after learning that the expenses needed for its construction ballooned to P23 billion during a flag-raising ceremony last June 10.

Escudero expressed shock and disbelief at the unexpectedly high projected costs needed to complete the NSB. He noted that these expenses are particularly hard to accept given the economic crisis most Filipinos face.

He noted that the NSB was initially projected to cost P8.9 billion, and that the cost of the project had ballooned to P13 billion, with an additional P10 billion required for completion. This brought the total to P23 billion.

Binay has said in several interviews that the P23 billion is false.

Cayetano said a series of briefings with relevant stakeholders, including teams from former Senate Accounts Committee chairpersons such as Binay and former senator Ping Lacson were conducted to provide a "clear view" on the matter.

This resulted to an executive summary of the initial review and recommendations, which were presented to Escudero.

"Hindi po ito haka-haka, lahat po ito ay official. May mga reports at may documents (These are not rumors, these are all official. There are reports and documents)," Cayetano said.

Binay says that if the Senate hearing will push through since as of the moment there is nothing scheduled yet as per the Senate's records, it would be an opportunity for her to finally "catch" Cayetano.

"Kasi baka ito na yung pagkakataon para mahuli ko siya dahil parang ayaw niya kong harapin at least kung matuloy 'to on Wednesday, parang na-corner na natin siya (Maybe this is the chance to get to him [Cayetano] since it seems like he doesn't want to face me but if this pushes through on Wednesday, we might as well have cornered him)," she said.