Trillanes: More witnesses in building overprice to surface

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — More people with knowledge relevant to the Senate’s ongoing investigation of the alleged overprice of the Makati Parking building have been coming out and volunteering to speak out, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said on Sunday.

Trillanes said the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee handling the issue has started the process of evaluating their statements to decide if they would be made to appear in the hearing.

“It’s not just only those from Makati, but those who have information relevant to issue,” Trillanes said over the phone when asked about the persons who volunteered information to the panel.

“We’re in the process of evaluating the information,” he added.

These persons were referred to the Senate panel, and have expressed willingness to talk after seeing how the Senate hearings have been, he said.

“They’ve seen the hearings, they’ve been competently handled by the subcommittee chaired by Sen. [Aquilino] Pimentel III. They feel they have a venue where they can say their piece,” he added.

In a radio interview Sunday, Trillanes said many people have been volunteering to speak up at the Senate and have just been waiting for a chance to share what they know.

He also encouraged others who might possess relevant information to do the same. At the same time, he called on officials of the Hilmarc’s Construction corporation, which built the controversial building, to tell the truth.

“If they tell the truth, all of the problems they are facing will go away,” he said in the interview.

“If they are afraid of Vice President (Jejomar) Binay, they should be more afraid of the law that will punish them,” he added.

If the Hilmarc’s officials were concerned they would face charges if they admitted involvement in anomalies, they could become state witnesses and be given protection, he further said.

He said the Senate panel had documentary evidence related to the alleged overprice of the parking building.

Two former Makati City officials, former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and erstwhile General Services Director Mario Hechanova, have appeared during the hearing on the building and linked Vice President Jejomar Binay to alleged anomalies, such as the receipt of kickback and ordering the rigging of the bidding to favor Hilmarc’s.

But Binay has denied that the building was overpriced and also said he had not received kickbacks. As for the alleged rigging of the biddings, his spokesperson said it was the triumvirate of Hechanova, Mercado, and former city engineer Nelson Morales who supposedly had rigged the biddings.

Binay has also been lambasting the Senate hearing for being politically motivated since he has been leading in voters’ preference surveys.

A Hilmarc’s official, Assistant Vice President for Legal Rogelio Peig, has also denied giving kickback to Binay, and had said the cost of constructing the P2.3 billion parking building was comparable to the cost of other government offices that it had built.

Trillanes also said that aside from the parking building, he wants the Senate to also delve into the construction of the Ospital ng Makati and the Makati Science High School.

As for criticism that he was just politicking, he said Binay’s camp could keep on saying this, but the question of whether the Vice President was involved in corruption or not should be answered.

Many questions pertaining to the building should be answered as well, he added.

He said this was not the first time he had gone up against a powerful personality.

RELATED STORIES

Binay seeks Manny V. Pangilinan for VP

Senate a ‘kangaroo’ court–Binay camp