‘Accuser’s resorts cover 800 hectares’

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday turned the tables on former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, revealing that he owns several undeclared properties covering at least 800 hectares.

UNA interim president and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco enumerated some of the properties allegedly owned by Mercado.

These include the 100-hectare Underwater Garden Hotel and Resort in La Jala, Coron, Palawan; the multimillion-peso resort Villa Juanita in Coron; the one-hectare Grand Villa Pateros in Barangay Aguho, Pateros; and the JMK Professional Manpower Solution Inc., registered in the names of Juanita Mercado and Karla Pascual Mercado.

The other properties supposedly owned by the former Makati vice mayor are the 200-hectare Grand Villa and Butterfly Center in Los Baños, Laguna; the 500-hectare Hunter Valley Plantation and Resort in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; the Nitz Face & Body Care Center in Barangay Aguho; the Lawndale Finance Co. (LFCI) in Cabanatuan City, and the St. Therese Multi-Specialty Services Inc. in Makati City.

Mercado, according to Tiangco, also owns properties in West Rembo, Makati and in Laur, Nueva Ecija and a poultry farm in Palayan, Nueva Ecija.

Tiangco challenged Mercado to surrender to the government all his properties if he is really sincere in his fight against corruption.

“If Mercado indeed wants to show sincerity, he should take it one step further and surrender to the government all his properties,” Tiangco stressed.

Tiangco called on the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigating Binay on corruption allegations to look into the companies and businesses of Mercado and his family here and abroad.

“He admitted getting kickbacks. His wealth is the fruit of his corrupt ways. If he will not do that, his land donation is just a gimmick. What is a (4.5-hectare) land compared to several hectares of land he owns in Nueva Ecija, Makati, Laguna and Palawan?” he said.

Tiangco was referring to the 4.5-hectare lot in Rosario, Batangas donated by Mercado to the Department of Agrarian Reform on Tuesday.

Mercado said that while the property was registered in his name, he was only a dummy for Binay.

Mercado said it was part of the 350-hectare farm allegedly owned by Binay in Batangas.

Tiangco said the Senate should also ask the Bureau of Internal Revenue to conduct a lifestyle check on Mercado.

Tiangco said the properties are registered under the names of Mercado’s children, wife, second wife, daughters- and sons-in-law and siblings.

“This is a proof of how he enriched himself while in office,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco also called on the Senate subcommittee to seize the assets of Ariel Olivar, whom Mercado claimed was Binay’s dummy in a 150-square meter unit at The Peak condominium in Makati.

“After discovering today the relationship of Olivar to Mercado, we are daring the Senate subcommittee and concerned government agencies to seize all assets in the name of Ariel Olivar. This is a proof that VP Binay is not the owner of the properties mentioned by Olivar. They should do this immediately,” Tiangco said.

Olivar, in a sworn affidavit submitted to the Senate and read by Mercado, denied that he was the owner of a unit in The Peak.

Olivar said he was the registered owner to conceal the real owner, which Mercado claimed was Vice President.

According to Tiangco, the condominium unit being linked to Binay is actually owned by Mercado.

Tiangco challenged the Senate panel to probe further the connection of Mercado and Olivar.

He said the Senate panel should invite Olivar to divulge all properties under his name, and recommend their confiscation in favor of the government.

“If Olivar claims to be a dummy of Binay, then let all properties under his name be surrendered to the government. Mercado is a liar to the bone. He is using Olivar as dummy to hide his illegal transactions,” Tiangco said.

“I wonder how a person who is always with Mercado becomes a dummy of the Vice President. He (Olivar), along with staff of Sen. (Alan Peter) Cayetano, was with Mercado in the helicopter that took video of Sunchamp last Oct. 2,” he said.

Tiangco claimed Olivar is an employee of Mercado.

“Ariel Olivar is a surveyor of Freeway Surveying, which holds office at Kristine Building in Makati. The firm is owned by Mercado,” Tiangco said.

“There is an Ariel Mercado Olivar listed as a board member of Twinleaf Group, Inc.,” Tiangco said, adding Mercado also owns the company.

Twinleaf is owned by Mercado and through this company, he cornered more than P1 billion in infrastructure and other projects in Makati when he was vice mayor, Tiangco said.

“Mercado used a dummy at that time so his ownership was kept hidden until after he lost to Junjun Binay in the 2010 elections. Now, Mercado and his children openly own these properties. In fact, he was even able to corner projects from the Department of Agriculture,” Tiangco revealed.  – Richmond Mercurio