Binay camp hits back against Makati ‘ghost’ buster

Arthur Cruto, the head of the Makati City Action Center. SCREENGRAB FROM SENATE LIVESTREAM

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s camp bared on Thursday the more than P2-million unliquidated cash advances that his accuser, Arthur Cruto, made 10 years ago—when the Vice President was still mayor of Makati City.

Cruto, officer-in-charge of the Makati Action Center (MAC), exposed thousands of alleged “ghost” senior citizens in Makati that is costing the local government some P367 million a year.

READ: Exec: Makati losing P367M a year due to ‘ghost’ beneficiaries

Joey Salgado, head of Binay’s media affairs, said that based on the records of the city Accounting Department as of August 26, 2015, Cruto had failed to submit liquidation documents for two cash advances he made over 10 years ago.

The advances involved P1,820,000 made in August 2004 for the Araw ng Makati 2004 celebration, and the other for an A.R.I.S. Seminar in the amount of P300,600 in April 2005.

Of the total cash advances of P2,120,600, Salgado said, Cruto was able to liquidate only P16,497.10, specifically for the seminar in 2005.

He said supporting documents included copies of voucher no. 3368 and check no. 146833 in the amount of P1,820,000 for Araw ng Makati activities in 2004, and voucher no. 2651 and check no. 015103 in the amount of P300,600 in 2005.

Salgado then urged Makati Acting Mayor Romulo Peña Jr. to order Cruto, who was also a former executive assistant of ex-Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, to settle the unliquidated cash advances he made in 2004 and 2005.

“We would like to remind the acting mayor that he had personally vouched for the ‘untarnished’ employment records of his appointees. It would do him well to take a closer look at the records of his other appointees to ensure that they do not have outstanding obligations like Cruto,” he said in a statement.

Binay camp noted that it was the acting mayor, who appointed Cruto to head the MAC, which has been tasked to conduct a survey of the senior citizens throughout the city.

The supposed cash advances were made during the term as mayor of Binay, who is accused of involvement in billions of pesos in anomalies in the city. Maila Ager