VP Binay benefited from ‘overpriced’ Makati building, former vice mayor Mercado claims

Published August 26, 2014 10:47am

(Updated 5:27 p.m.) Vice President Jejomar Binay benefited from the construction of the alleged overpriced building in Makati, according to his former vice mayor and friend, Ernesto Mercado, who also admitted that he himself benefited from the project.

“Alam ninyo hindi ako talagang sinungaling. Pagtatawanan ako ng mga tao rito. Aamimin ko: Sa Phase 1 at Phase 2 nakinabang po ako. Kung ang vice mayor ay nakinabang, mas lalo na ang mayor. Kung ako ay nakinabang, imposibleng hindi nakinabang ang aking mayor,” Mercado said Tuesday during the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee on the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building 2.

Asked if he has personal knowledge that Binay benefited from the project, Mercado said, “'Yun naman po ang kalakaran.”

Mercado claimed that he has been with Binay from 1986 to 2010.

Even in an interview after the hearing, Mercado refused to elaborate on the benefits he received saying he would reveal them at a proper forum. He also declined to say how much in kickbacks Binay received.

“Hindi ako nagsasabi na overpriced. Hayaan n’yo ang COA (Commission on Audit) na mag-determine kung magkano talaga ang overprice,” he said.

He said that when the project was presented to him while he was still a vice mayor, it only cost P1.2 billion.

“Yung building may isang basement, ground floor paglilipatan ng Land Bank at saka nung business permit and licensing office, tapos merong apat na palapag sa ibabaw, yun lang aking sinasabi. Alam mo sa construction, nagkakaroon naman talaga ng change order, pero yung change order di naman pwede lumampas sa 10 percent to 15 percent yan eh,” he said.

Binay, a strong contender for the presidency in 2016, had earlier said he feels slighted by the investigation being conducted at the Senate.

His son, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, attended the first hearing, where he maintained that there was no anomaly in the construction of the building. The younger Binay, however, was absent in Tuesday’s hearing due to personal reasons.

The younger Binay also dismissed the plunder complaint filed against them before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged overpricing as a move by "desperate" opponents who want to bring his father down.

The P2.5-billion parking building was overpriced by P1.314 billion, according to the complaint filed by defeated mayoralty candidate Renato Bondal against the Binays. Bondal was Junjun Binay's opponent in the 2013 elections.

The building was constructed in 2007 when the elder Binay was Makati mayor and Junjun a city councilor.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano during the hearing said that the P2.7-billion parking building was clearly overpriced based on a handbook used in the private sector.

Citing the Davis Langdon & Seah (DLS) handbook used primarily by quantity surveyors, the senator said that in the year 2012, the construction of car parks ranged from P17,000 to P20,000 per square meter; standard offices, P31,000 to P39,000, prestige or high-rise offices, P43,000 to P49,000, and general hospitals, P49,000 to P59,000.

The complainants against the Binays claimed that the building had an average cost of P84,000 per square meter.

Cayetano also showed photos of the questioned Makati building's ceiling, parking lot, toilet, and mirrors to belie the claim of city government officials that the parking building was "world-class."

"Wala po kayong kisame o ceiling, nakalabas lahat ng mga tubo, nakalabas ang mga electrical. In other words, ordinary, hindi world class. Tama po ba? Huwag natin lokohin ang mga tao, hindi dapat naka-expose. Ang world-class parking po, napakadilim siguro para hindi natetempt ang magnanakaw or whatever," the senator told former city administrator Marjorie de Veyra.

"Sabi niyo mahal dahil sa tatlong dahilan: dahil green, dahil world class, at dahil sa pundasyon. Doon sa green, is it a certified green building? No. Kaya nga meron tayong certification process para may magsasabi at nagse-certify na green nga. Ano po ang qualification ng green building? Sa media, ang sinabi ni Mayor pati ni VP, de-kalidad kasi world class at green," Cayetano said.

"Pagdating dito, nakaharap na kami at nagtatanong na, sabi nila, ‘our version of green.’ But your version of green is not certified. Bottom line, hindi certified green building ang car park," he said.

The Commission on Audit technical audit personnel said there was no overpricing and it was “within the allowable limit of variance as per COA resolution.”

Robert Henson, president of Hilmarc's Construction Corporation, the general contractor of the questioned building, said the high price of the steel affected the cost of the parking building. The building was built between 2008 and 2013.

"Inabot po ng pagtaas ng presyo dahil sa ginagawa ring malaking building sa China, all-time high ang presyo," he said during the hearing.

Henson was supposed to give a slide presentation but it did not push through due to lack of time.

COA chairman Grace Pulido Tan said the agency was in the process of putting together a team that would review the audit on the questioned building but they were having a hard time getting people.

“Nahihirapan lang kami. Not many people want to get involved sa usaping ito. We need people who have integrity," Tan said.

She expected to team to be formed by next week in order to start the special audit as soon as possible.

“We will do it with dispatch. The Ombudsman is also waiting for the result of the special audit,” Tan said.

The Blue Ribbon committee is set to conduct an ocular inspection on the building on September 1 and resume the hearing on September 4. — with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ/KG/KBK/NB, GMA News

Tags: makaticityhallbuilding2, makatiparkingbuilding, jejomarbinay, junjunbinay, ernestomercado