Contractor of ‘overpriced’ Makati building also building condo Rep. Binay won in raffle

The contractor for the controversial Makati City Hall Building II is the same one for The Grove, the Rockwell Land Corp. property where Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay won a condominium unit in a raffle in February.

According to the website of Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation, Phase 2 of The Grove is one of its ongoing projects.

Construction on Phase 2, which includes Building or Tower C and D, began in November 2012 and is expected to be finished by December 2014.

Rep. Binay's 32-square meter studio unit is in Building C of the premium condominium.

According to a post on Lopez Link, the online newsletter of the Lopez Group of Companies that owns Rockwell Land Corp., participants in the Christmas raffle that Rep. Binay entered received a raffle stub for every P2,500 purchase.

Rep. Binay told GMA News Online in February that the win “shocked” her, and that she thought the notification by phone was a prank call at first.

Hilmarc’s came under fire recently for the Makati City Hall Building II, the allegedly overpriced government building constructed during the term of then Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

'Fixed bidding'

Rogelio Peig, assistant vice president for legal of Hilmarc’s, said before the blue ribbon committee on Thursday that the company won the contract through competitive bidding.

Engineer Mario Hechanova, former Makati General Services Department head and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) vice chairman, however said the bidding for Makati City Hall Building II was rigged, and he was forced to fix the process by then-City Engineer Nelson Morales.

A report on GMA’s “24 Oras” Friday said that Hilmarc’s also built four other buildings for the Makati government, including a building for the Ospital ng Makati, Makati City Hall, the University of Makati, and the Makati Science High School.

During the hearing, Hechanova said nobody had questioned the alleged rigging because it was a common practice in Makati.

Both Binay and Peig have denied the claim that bidding was rigged.

Mayor Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay, a city councilor during the construction of Building II, said the Commission on Audit (COA) has cleared the building in a technical report, but COA chair Grace Pulido-Tan has announced that the building will be subject to another audit.

She said a team of auditors and outside experts will be assembled by next week, adding that the results of the investigation will be submitted to both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Senate blue ribbon committee. — JDS, GMA News