Makati acting mayor promises cheaper, tastier cakes

The design of the birthday cake being proposed by acting-Mayor Romulo Peña simply bears the “Happy Birthday” greeting. Earlier cakes include the words “From Mayor Binay” or “From the People of Makati.” Krixia Subingsubing/INQUIRER

Besides continuing the controversial program of the Binays, he tried his hand at handing out birthday cakes to senior citizens of the city.

Acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña Jr. gave out sample cakes to three elderly citizens at the flag ceremony on Monday after he announced that he would bid out the contract to supply birthday cakes for seniors in “an honest and proper process.”

Peña—who assumed office 12 days ago after Mayor Junjun Binay was ordered suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman over allegations that the Makati City Science High School building was overpriced—said the new supplier would give the elderly “more affordable, tastier and branded” cakes.

He handed the cakes from Goldilocks to the senior citizens, who included Rebecca Oliman from Barangay (village) Olympia, promising them he would expand and improve Binay’s existing programs for them, like an increase in allowances and delivery of free medicines.

“He is just fulfilling what he promised to us before,” Oliman, 66, told members of the media after she expressed her gratitude to Peña.

Bidding

Peña announced that he would be bidding out the contract to supply birthday cakes for the city’s elderly, eyeing popular bakeshops like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon to avoid controversy since the program came under fire after lawyer Renato Bondal alleged in a Senate hearing last year that the cakes were overpriced.

The acting mayor said his office was planning to start the bidding as soon as the cake suppliers it had contacted confirmed their participation.

Peña said the new cakes would cost just P265 to P280 compared with the cakes worth P306.75 each that Binay had distributed.

“Some of the bidders are famous for their quality products and excellent service. We would like to get a bakeshop that’s new, tested and trusted, and can supply cheaper but quality cakes for our elderly,” he said.

Various flavors

The cakes, he said, would be available in various flavors, delighting the more than 500 employees in attendance during the flag ceremony.

Under Mayor Binay, Makati also gives cakes to holders of BLU cards celebrating 50th wedding anniversaries. The cakes are bigger than those for birthdays. The BLU card program provides benefits, like medical, cash and burial assistance to senior citizens.

The city distributed a total of 56,597 cakes to seniors in 2013, up from 51,030 in 2012, according to the Makati Social Welfare and Development Office.

Own expense

While waiting for the contract to be bid out and awarded, Peña said the birthday cakes would be paid out of his own pocket. He described the situation as a “day-to-day struggle” as he had already shelled out money for 300 birthday cakes for the July celebrators.

Reacting to Peña’s announcement to change the cake supplier, Councilor Marie Alethea Casal-Uy said the contract for the cakes had been bid out last month and was set to be awarded to the winning supplier, Bakerite Inc.

“[I]f a bidder has already won, why change it?” Uy said.

Valid contract

Binay’s spokesman, Joey Salgado, said Peña “cannot simply rescind a valid contract,” referring to the earlier bidding in which Bakerite was declared the winner.

“There is a process that needs to be followed. And the fictitious claim of overpricing made by self-confessed manghuhula Renato Bondal is not a valid reason,” Salgado said.

At a Senate hearing on alleged anomalies in Makati City, Bondal acknowledged that he just guessed the price of the cakes when he claimed that these were overpriced at P1,000 each.

Cups & Mugs

The cake-giving program started in 2003 when Vice President Jejomar Binay was still the mayor of Makati. Until February last year, the supplier was Cups & Mugs Kitchenette and Catering Services, owned by Kim Tun S. Chong, an alleged front for the Binays. In March last year, Bakerite replaced Cups & Mugs as cake supplier.

Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado has claimed that Sen. Nancy Binay had supplied the cakes. The senator has denied Mercado’s allegation.

Millennium Food

A report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council said the Vice President’s children—Junjun and his sisters Nancy and Makati Rep. Abigail Binay—were founders of Millennium Food Chains Corp. along with Erlinda Chiong and Chong of Cups & Mugs fame.

Asked about the intention of Peña to tap well-known cake suppliers, Salgado said it was “wrong and misleading” for the acting mayor to mention Goldilocks and Red Ribbon when they have yet to signify their intention to join the bidding.

“Again, there is a process for accreditation and these companies are aware of possible legal issues because of the existence of a valid contract,” the mayor’s spokesman added.

At the flag ceremony, Peña, sole ally of the administration among Makati officials, said he would propose to the city council the doubling of senior citizens’ allowances and free insurance for all local government officials.

He said there were plans to have free medicines delivered to the beneficiaries.

“They do not have to go out and form long lines just to get their free medicines. Aside from that, they will also be given free consultation services,” Peña added.

Binay allies no-shows

All city council officials, known Binay allies, snubbed Peña’s first flag ceremony. But they were all in attendance at the oath-taking of Councilor Leo Magpantay from the second district as acting vice mayor two hours later at the sala of Judge Ronald Moreno on the 14th floor of City Hall. Councilor Casal-Uy explained that they were not required to attend the flag ceremony and that they did not want to be used by Peña to show the public that he had the support of the public and the barangay (village) chairs.

Earlier, Peña announced that Councilor Virgilio Hilario from the first district would assume the office of acting vice mayor, a move Magpantay contested as he was the councilor with the biggest number of votes in the 2013 elections.

“I think [Peña] should have verified from the Comelec (Commission on Elections) first before he decided [to announce Hilario as acting vice mayor]. He should not do things helter-skelter. He should have found out for sure because it’s reasons like these that plague the city with intrigue,” he said.

Magpantay showed the Inquirer a certification from the Comelec indicating that he obtained 92.36 percent of the votes compared with Hilario’s 82.14 percent.

Asked about the reforms Peña had laid out, Magpantay said these would still be checked by the council if these would benefit city residents.

He said he was not able to attend the ceremony because he had to prepare for his oath-taking.

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Originally posted: 02:14 PM July 13th, 2015