Nancy Binay bares P8.96-B ‘last-minute’ subway project agreement
Makati Mayor Nancy Binay. Photo from Senate PRIB.
MANILA, Philippines — Makati City Mayor Nancy Binay on Sunday said that the previous city administration entered into a “last-minute agreement” worth P8.96 billion with the Makati subway contractor.
In a statement, Binay said that the City Council of Makati authorized the former administration to enter into and sign the Settlement Agreement with Philippine InfraDev Holdings Inc. (PhilDev) which was approved and signed last June 23, seven days before the term of previous elected officials ended.
Upon assuming office last July 1, Binay said that the agreement will obligate the new administration to pay P8.96 billion within 90 days from the issuance of consent award by the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC).
READ: Makati-Taguig row derails P200-B subway project
A $30 million penalty, with interests, will be imposed if the city misses the payment within the said deadline.
“The financial standing of our city will be in crisis once the SIAC orders the settlement agreement,” Binay said in Filipino.
“Due to the cancelled Makati Subway Project, our city could not pay Philippine InfraDev Holdings the almost P9 billion amount,” she added.
Binay also said that the signed resolution will compromise the city’s financial standing and will affect the current projects. The City Council passed a resolution last June 20, which authorized the former administration to enter into a settlement agreement with PhilDev.
A certification issued by the City Budget Department dated July 3 showed that there is no existing appropriation in the 2025 budget to cover the said amount.
Without public consultation
Binay also raised concern that the agreement was signed without public consultation, budget certification, or proper transition transparency.
“We will not let these midnight deals and legally-flawed settlement agreements that were easily passed and the payment of P8.96 billion for the settlement of Makati Subway Project will be grossly disadvantageous to the city government and to the public,” she noted.
READ: Makati subway no longer feasible, builder goes for arbitration
With this, Binay said she ordered the city’s law department to prepare necessary documents to be filed before the SIAC to assert the position of the city government.
She added that she will issue an executive order to form a fact-finding committee to investigate and look into the projects entered under the Public-Private Partnership by the city government to ensure transparency.
“We can hardly accept a settlement of this magnitude without transparency, due diligence and legal safeguards. With this movement, the constituents will always suffer,” she said.
The P200-billion subway project was introduced in 2018 but was stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a Supreme Court ruling in 2022 transferring the jurisdiction of 10 Embo (enlisted men’s barrios) barangays from Makati City to Taguig City affected the alignment of the 11-kilometer subway project. It was designed to serve 700,000 commuters daily.
PhilDev previously said that the project is “no longer economically and operationally feasible” due to the ruling, as some subway stations and depots were declared under the jurisdiction of Taguig City. /mr
