Senate urged to probe ‘pricey’ Makati government buildings

MANILA, Philippine–Saying the findings would either clear the man hoping to be the country’s next president or expose his true colors, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has asked the Senate to look into allegations that two Makati buildings constructed when Vice President Jejomar Binay was still the city’s mayor were overpriced.

In a resolution, Trillanes said that the accusations deserve to be placed under legislative scrutiny by the Senate blue ribbon committee to ensure that the procurement policies and procedures were adequate to prevent abuse and misuse of taxpayer money.

He added that the allegations were “shocking” considering that the P2.4-billion price tag of one of the buildings in question—an 11-story parking building on F. Zobel Street in Barangay (village) Poblacion, Makati City—was even greater than the P2-billion cost of constructing luxurious buildings such as the 46-story Shang Grand Tower, the 19th-tallest in the country, which was completed in 2005.

The other building mentioned by the senator in his resolution was the 22-story Makati City Hall.

According to Trillanes, a Senate inquiry would give Binay a chance to prove his innocence or show the Filipinos his true colors.

“This exercise of oversight function of the Senate will give the Vice President a chance to clear his name, if he is indeed innocent. If not, then it is high time that the Filipino people get to know more about this person who is aspiring to be the next president of this country,” he said in a separate statement.

Binay has made known his intention to run for the country’s top post in 2016 and he is expected to compete against other contenders from the ruling Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party of which Trillanes is a member.

The Vice President’s daughter, Sen. Nancy Binay, said that her brother, incumbent Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., can answer all the allegations against their father.

Politically motivated

At the same time, she noted that the resolution was apparently related to the 2016 elections.

“It’s sad that the Senate is being used to hit potential opponents in 2016. The Senate already has plunging ratings and now politics will be added to the mix. I don’t know how we can rise from this,” she told

reporters.

She said Trillanes could have asked her about the issue before filing the resolution, adding that she was ready to provide him with pertinent documents.

According to her, the parking building was actually an office building, adding that there was misinformation being spread as to its actual use. She stressed, however, that she had no apprehensions about the forthcoming investigation.

“Bring it on,” she added.

Her brother, meanwhile, expressed his and his father’s readiness to face the Senate.

“The Commission on Audit (COA) has already cleared the project of overpricing allegations in an intensive audit in February. The findings underscore our position from the start that these allegations by our political opponents do not have factual and legal basis. They were made as part of an organized demolition scheme against my father,” the younger Binay said in a statement on Monday.

He was referring to the findings of a report submitted by Cecilia Caga-anan, the COA officer assigned to Makati City. However, she is also one of the respondents in the plunder complaint filed against the Binays and other city officials in the Office of the Ombudsman last month.

The complaint was filed by Renato Bondal and Nicolas Enciso VI of the Save Makati Movement. According to them, the New Makati City Parking Building was “the most expensive parking building in the entire country.”

Mayor Binay said he was hoping that the members of the Senate blue ribbon committee “would remain impartial and nonpartisan.”

“We are hopeful that some senators, especially those who belong to the same parties as our local opponents in Makati, will set aside personal and political agendas during the hearing,” he added.

Baseless accusations

“We are ready to face these allegations. All these projects have passed COA scrutiny but that will not prevent our detractors from proceeding with their demolition campaign,” he said, noting that they were expecting more “baseless accusations” in the coming weeks from their political detractors.

The Makati mayor said that Bondal has started touring cities in the Visayas like Cebu and Iloilo “to spread lies against the Vice President.”

“Our political opponents are desperately grasping at straws, and are intent on destroying our credibility through these malicious, false and baseless accusations. But we have nothing to hide. The building was constructed in accordance with the government procurement laws and processes, and we trust that all relevant transactions will bear close scrutiny,” he said.

In his resolution, Trillanes noted that the actual payments for the 11-story parking building, which was constructed from 2007 to 2013, had amounted to P2.367 billion, according to a COA report issued in February. This would be equivalent to P75,000 per square meter.