Makati funds used for farm development, says Mercado

An aerial view of the 350-hectare agriculture estate in Rosario, Batangas province, that has a garden patterned after London’s Kew Gardens. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY ERNESTO MERCADO

MANILA, Philippines–Funds and personnel of Makati City were used for the development of the 350-hectare agricultural estate in Rosario town, Batangas province, allegedly owned by the family of Vice President Jejomar Binay, through an employee of the city’s engineering department, according to former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado.

Mercado, a former ally and trusted friend of Binay when the latter was still mayor of Makati, furnished the Inquirer documents to support his claims.

The Binay camp on Wednesday night expressed doubts over the authenticity of the documents obtained by the Inquirer that showed that the Makati City government, under the watch then of Binay when he was still mayor, funded the construction of the so-called “Hacienda Binay” in Batangas.

“We challenge the authenticity of these documents that purportedly date back to the ’90s, especially since it comes from a polluted source,” Joey Salgado, who serves as spokesman for Binay, said in a statement.

Contrary to the claims of the Binays that they only leased the piggery and flower farms for Agri-Fortuna and JCB Farms in the hacienda, a document provided by Mercado showed that Dr. Elenita Binay, wife of the Vice President, approved a project proposal to construct a rest house on the property on Sept. 10, 1997.

Project proposal

“This is the architect’s proposal for the main house filled with the antiques of Dr. Binay,” Mercado said.

A proposal from Rodolfo Roque Bongato Architects, signed by Rodolfo Bongato, bears the supposed signature of Dr. Binay, then Makati mayor from 1998 to 2001.

The proposal included the scope of services that covers the schematic design, the development phase, bidding and negotiations, the construction administration and the building’s structural, electrical and sanitary engineering. It indicated that the architectural design cost P350,000.

The document was addressed to JCB Farms Inc., the company the Binays had publicly admitted ownership but sold to Gregorio Laureano.

Included in the Bongato proposal were the firm’s rendering of the design of the rest house, with the following allocations: P40,000 to be paid upon submission of schematic design; P40,000 for approval of preliminary studies; P40,000 upon submission of construction documents; P30,000 upon submission of plans for bidding; and P200,000 for the construction administration phase (broken down to 12 equal months payable by P15,000, or a total of P180,000, plus P20,000 upon completion of the project).

Engineer Mandrique

Another letter, dated Jan. 29, 1996, this time from engineer Renato Mandrique, requested an immediate budget of P4,200 for the purchase of two units of grinder discs to be used at the Agri-Fortuna farm.

Mandrigue was an employee of the Makati engineering office and a trusted man of Binay, according to Mercado.

Also indicated in the letter were meal allowances and transportation expenses for both Agri-Fortuna and JCB Farms workers.

The Binays had earlier admitted to being co-owners of Agri-Fortuna but said they divested themselves of their shares in 2010.

In the letter bearing the name of the Department of Engineering and Public Works of Makati, Mandrigue wrote “as per M-1 [code name for Binay when he was mayor] immediately needed.”

9 city employees

Mandrigue wrote in the letter the names of nine people—all employees of Makati City Hall—who would work at the Rosario farms.

Mercado said only Binay’s instructions would be followed by city hall employees, not those from Laureano Gregorio, who was identified by the Binay camp as the owner of the vast property.

“This is one proof that funds and personnel of the city were used to work on the farm and only Binay could make that order. Gregorio had no clout in the city hall to work on the farms,” said the former vice mayor, who is now in the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program.

Meal, transpo allowances

The same letter showed that the nine workers received meal and transportation allowance for “Rosario—charge to Agri-Fortuna” and for “San Pascual-JCB.”

Another document showed that Mandrique, while a member of the Makati DEPW, worked as an official of Makati Elementary School on Gen. Luna Street in Barangay (village) Poblacion.

His two positions were indicated in the price quotations for new fiberglass water tanks for the Agri-Fortuna farms in Batangas. Susan Lu Lee of C.W.T. Manufacturing sent to Mandrigue the quotations for fiberglass water tanks on June 29, 1995.

The price list was forwarded by Mandrigue to lawyer Nestor Alampay, then general manager of the Agri-Fortuna farms in a letter dated July 10, 1995.

Binay aide Baloloy

The letter was sent to Alampay through the personal assistant of Binay, Eduviges Baloloy.

“Attached herewith is the proposed quotation of Ms. Susan Lu Lee asst. to the president, C.W.T. manufacturing dated June 29, 1995, regarding the proposed 15,000- and 10,000-gallon cylindrical fiber-glass water tank to replace the existing 7,000-liter fiberglass, which cannot cope in maintaining potable water supply to the piggery.

“Likewise, the existing 7,000-liter water tank be transferred to the four units fattening buildings, at Agri-Fortuna Farms, Rosario Batangas. For your favorable action and approval on the matter is highly appreciated,” Mandrigue said.

Mercado testified at the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearings looking into the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall parking building that Hilmarc’s Construction was forced to pad the costs of the buildings it built for the Makati local government for its work on the P1.2-billion sprawling farm in Batangas.

Developed over the years, the hacienda is now home to two mansions (one with a garden copied from a British royal garden), a pavilion, a 40-car garage, two man-made lagoons, an orchard and a cock farm.

The mansion, with a resort, has an adjoining pavilion and a guesthouse.

Errand boy

Mercado, in his statements in the Senate, said that in 1992, Binay bought 5 hectares from Delfin Almeda and experimented with raising 50 pigs.

The former vice mayor admitted to serving as the farm’s errand boy, buying feeds and delivering the wages of workers.

Shortly after, Agri-Fortuna Inc. was set up.

Agri-Fortuna was previously owned by JCB (the Vice President’s initials), Dr. Elenita Binay, Ruben Balane, retired Judge Victor Gella and lawyer Alampay, Mercado said.

Listed new owners of Agri-Fortuna, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records, are Binay’s longtime aide Gerardo Limlingan, Tomas Lopez (president of University of Makati), Laureano Gregorio Jr., Mindanilla Barlis and Mitsy Sedillo.

Not proof of ownership

Salgado said the documents from Mercado were no different from the others against Binay.

“And here we are with yet another set of alleged documents that do not prove ownership,” he said.

Wild, false accusations

Binay’s detractors, who Salagado said included “defeated local candidates and senators,” were coming out with documents that turned out to be “spurious” and were making “wild and false” accusations before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee.

He said this was all part of “Oplan Stop Nognog 2016,” a plot that Binay’s party officials at United Nationalist Alliance claimed was meant to destroy Binay’s reputation in order to stop him from seeking the presidency in 2016.

Salgado said the plot involved a “campaign of lies backed by (Interior Secretary) Mar Roxas and his Liberal Party allies.”

“Those who peddle lies are allowed to speak uninterrupted and are even coached while the others receive the third degree treatment,” he said.

Businessman ‘abused’

He cited as example the way businessman Antonio Tiu, who owned up to being the owner of the Batangas property, was “abused and threatened, especially by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.”

Salgado was referring to members of the Senate subcommittee saying Tiu could not prove ownership of the land because the transfer certificate title (TCT) was not under his name.

Tiu had said he was not still holding the title to the land and he had so far paid only P11 million for the property worth close to P450 million.

But Binay’s spokesman said the senators “do not even or maybe pretend not to understand that of course a property sale can be consummated by a TCT annotation only after the seller has completed his documentation and the buyer, his payments.”

Salgado took exception to claims that Binay owned a log cabin in Tagaytay Highlands. He said the company had no record of Binay’s alleged ownership of the cabin.

Even the signing privileges by Binay there as alluded to by Mercado “do not prove ownership of a Highlands unit.”

“When this was cleared up, we had wondered [where] else this witch hunt would go to next,” Salgado said.–With a report from Christine O. Avendaño

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