Makati gov't: Cakes for seniors only P300

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City government on Thursday refuted allegations by lawyer Renato Bondal that even the birthday cakes given to senior citizens in the city are overpriced.

City administrator Eleno Mendoza said the purchase order for the cakes show that the cakes were purchased by the city government at only P306.75 each and not more than P1,000 as claimed by Bondal.

"The figure cited by Mr. Bondal is totally false. Our documents will prove that and we will submit these documents to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee," Mendoza was quoted as saying in article posted on the official Facebook page of the Makati City government.

The city government said cakes are given to its senior citizens on their birthday and during silver wedding anniversaries of senior couples.

Bondal made the cake overpricing allegations during the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee hearing on the Makati City Hall parking building on Wednesday.

The lawyer, a known political opponent of the Binays who lost in the Makati mayoral race in 2010, even brought cakes from known establishments during the Senate hearing.

City spokesman Joey Salgado said this was a "crude attempt to use the Senate as a platform to raise malicious, baseless and non-existent allegations against the Binay family.”

"We would want to se Mr. Bondal show documents to prove his claim that the cakes were priced at P1,000. The city government has all the documents, and the purchases went through bidding as required by law," Salgado said in the same article.

During the hearing, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay assured the Senate sub-committee that he will submit documents to the Commission on Audit (COA) to belie Bondal's allegations.

He also maintained that the Makati City hall parking building was not overpriced.

COA chairperson Grace Pulido Tan said in the hearing that the agency will have a special audit on the alleged overpriced building.

She denied that the building has already been cleared from any anomaly.