Drilon: If Syjuco can prove it, he can have the mansion

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

(Top to down) Former Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—If former Iloilo Representative Augusto Syjuco Jr. can prove that Senate President Franklin Drilon has a mansion in Forbes Park, then “he can have it,” Drilon’s chief of staff said.

Lawyer Renato N. Bantug Jr. issued the challenge in response to Syjuco’s allegation that the Senate leader’s stepdaughter, Eduarda Genuino, owned a 1, 542-square-meter mansion worth P50 million in Forbes Park, an enclave for the rich in Makati City.

“Syjuco’s allegations have long been debunked, they are old lies that Syjuco has been peddling again and again. Syjuco is fond of calling attention to himself. It is obvious he is rehashing old fabrications to get a piece of the spotlight,” Bantug said in a text message sent to inquirer.net through staff member in Drilon’s office.

“If Syjuco can definitely prove that Senator Drilon owns a mansion in Forbes Park, he can have it,” he said.

The alleged property was only one of the allegations enumerated by the former lawmaker against Drilon in an open letter he sent to senators ahead of Thursday’s investigation into the allegedly overpriced Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), a which was the Senate leader’s pet project.

“Miss Genuino, aged only in her 20s at that time, is a stepdaughter of Senator Franklin Drilon. She was a simple wage earner then, and could not on her own produce that amount of money. Did her job pay her enough for her to purchase a P50-million Forbes Park house?” Syjuco said.

“When she acquired this property, she was single and she listed as her address the house of Drilon at 49 Polk Street, North Greenhills, San Juan Metro Manila,” he added.

But instead of fabricating stories, Bantug said Syjuco should just face and answer the serious charges lodged against him when he was still the head of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

“Syjuco, who is out on bail, having been the subject of various graft cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Sandiganbayan, should instead face and answer the serious charges against him in connection with anomalous transactions and overpricing of equipment during his stint at Tesda,” Drilon’s lawyer said.