Binay foes: Witnesses to expose 'ghost' workers

Political opponents of Mayor Jejomar Binay on Friday said more witnesses are prepared to blow the lid on the P128.1-million disbursement of the Makati City government to hundreds of supposed "ghost employees." Former Councilor Oscar Ibay of Makati's first district told GMA News that about three to five individuals privy to the purported anomaly are ready to speak up, but bemoaned that there could have been more. Ibay, an erstwhile close ally of the Makati mayor, said the other witnesses decided to keep their mouths shut after the Court of Appeals 13th Division issued a 60-day temporary restraining order against Binay's suspension. He lost to Binay for the top city post during the May 2004 polls. The Makati mayor's supporters had set up camp at the city hall grounds Tuesday as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) prepared to enforce the 60-day preventive suspension order against Binay, Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and all 16 city councilors. Tensions eased late Thursday afternoon when the CA decision came out, but Binay insisted that he merely won "Round 1" of what could be a lengthy battle which may last until the May 2007 elections. Seemingly as a portent of things to come, Ibay said Friday that Binay's woes were far from over. He noted that Binay faces a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan, not to mention a separate case on the questionable procurement of some P232 million worth of furniture for the new city hall building. In a statement posted September 27, the Office of the Ombudsman said it found "probable cause to indict for graft charges" Binay, his wife Elenita and nine other city officials over the deal. The Ombudsman recommended the filing of charges before the Sandiganbayan after an investigating team by the Commission on Audit "discovered that as a result of the said irregularities, the said purchases were overpriced by P53,905,638.54, and there were excessive purchases worth a total of P50,142,558.56, resulting in undue injury to the government in the total amount of P110,249,869.07." Former Makati vice mayor Roberto Brillante filed the complaint about the furniture contracts, as well as the complaint about the supposed "ghost employees" which the DILG eventually acted upon. Brillante, during a press conference earlier in the day, said Binay indeed may have escaped "Round 1." However, Brillante said, the Makati mayor would be "knocked out" in "Round 2." Meanwhile in the Makati City Hall, Binay insisted that Malacañang committed a grave error when it endorsed suspension the suspension of the entire Makati leadership to the DILG. He said resorting to such "harassment" would inevitably backfire to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. "(Palace officials) will fall flat on their faces," he said. Binay added that if he were to serve as adviser to the President, he will tell her a clear message in light of the Makati experience. "If we continue to file cases against the innocent, it will be repeatedly seen as a form of harassment," he added in Filipino. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV