Ex-Makati exec links VP Binay to overprice

MANILA, Philippines - Former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado yesterday accused Vice President Jejomar Binay of benefiting from the allegedly overpriced parking building at the Makati City hall.

In his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Mercado said the project started in 2007, with a total cost of only P1.2 billion.

He admitted that he had received kickbacks from the project, specifically in the first two phases, which were implemented when he was vice mayor.

Asked by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV if Binay profited from the project, Mercado said he was certain that the former mayor did.

“We in politics know the answer to that. If I benefited from this, it’s impossible that my mayor did not benefit from the project, too,” the former vice mayor said.

Pressed further by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III if he had personal knowledge about the Vice President benefiting from the project, Mercado said: “That is the policy in the city.”

Mercado told reporters he does not have any document to support his accusations against Binay.

The 10-story building, which has a basement level and a roof deck, was allegedly constructed at a cost of P2.7 billion.

Lawyer Renato Bondal and Nicholas Enciso filed plunder charges against Binay, his son incumbent Mayor Junjun Binay and other officials of Makati City in relation to the construction of the building.

Price of cakes just ‘wild guess’

Bondal, who claimed that the cakes given to senior citizens in Makati cost P1,000 each, yesterday admitted before a Senate hearing that the amount was just his “guess.”

Questioned by Sen. Vicente Sotto III about the basis of his earlier claim that the giveaway cakes cost P1,000 each compared with Red Ribbon and Goldilocks cakes, which only cost over P500, Bondal admitted that he just guessed the price.

During the hearing, Mercado pointed to Sen. Nancy Binay as the supplier of cakes for senior citizens during her mother’s term as mayor. The senator, however, denied this.

Binay: No fair probe

For his part, the vice president said he will not get a fair investigation from the Senate panel in connection with the allegedly overpriced carpark building.

“What transpired at the Senate yesterday was part of the script of our political opponents,” he said. “All that Mercado said are baseless. The people of Makati know him as a liar and fabricator of stories.”

Binay said charges should be filed against the former vice mayor following his admission that he pocketed money from the Makati Building 2 project.

He said the Senate is being used to malign his name and that of his family.

Politically motivated attacks

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada were dismayed over how members of the opposition – like the Binays – are being subjected to politically motivated attacks.

“It’s like the opposition is being singled out. This is selective justice at kitang-kita na merong motive against the opposition,” Estrada said after attending the hearing on Jinggoy’s bail petition at the Sandiganbayan yesterday.

No credibility

Mercado is not a credible witness in the Senate inquiry into the overpriced parking building at the Makati City hall, former city administrator Marjorie de Veyra said yesterday.

De Veyra said Mercado lost his credibility when he admitted receiving kickbacks from the project.

“During his term as vice mayor, he was known to frequent casinos here and abroad. He is considered a high-roller and given special treatment by casino operators. He loses millions in cockfights. We wonder how he was able to afford such lifestyle but his admission of personally gaining from the Building 2 project gives us the answer,” she said.

De Veyra added that Mercado failed to present any proof to back his allegations against Vice President Binay.

“He has been saying bad things about the Binays since 2010 when he ran and lost against Mayor Junjun,” she said. – With Michael Punongbayan, Mike Frialde