Makati Science HS building 'overpriced by P862-M'

MANILA, Philippines - Like the controversial parking building being investigated at the Senate, the P1.3-billion Makati Science High School building is also overpriced, according to an accuser of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Testifying again at the Senate on Thursday, lawyer Renato Bondal said the school building costs P72,500 per square meter, higher than the industry average of P25,620 per square meter.

This means that the school building is overpriced by P862 million or 283 percent, Bondal said.

Each classroom in the school building costs P24.6 million, he added.

"Ito pong high school building na ito ang pinakamahal na school building sa buong Pilipinas," Bondal claimed at the televised Senate hearing.

"Three times ang bukol ng mga Binay sa building na ito," he also said.

The lawyer said the school building's contractor was Hilmarc's Construction Corp., the same company that built the Makati City Hall II parking building.

He said the two projects were bidded out on the same day and both started in 2007, when Binay was still Makati mayor.

The school building, which has 10 floors, 554 classrooms and 18,373 square meters, was finished in February 2014.

Bondal said the proposed four dormitories for the school building are also nowhere to be found.

He further alleged that the bidding for the project was also rigged.

Mario Hechanova, former head of the Makati City government general service department, made the same allegation.

"Kasama po yan ng Makati parking building. Sabay po i-binidding 'yan, parehong mga contractor. So kaya sinasabi ko e bidding-biddingan lang iyan at niluto namin iyan," he said.

Binay has repeatedly denied that his family accumulated ill-gotten wealth by amassing kickbacks from various projects in the city.