Makati gov't: Building in plunder complaint not just for parking

MANILA, Philippines - The 12-storey building which is the subject of a plunder complaint filed against Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, Vice President Jejomar Binay and several former and current Makati City councilors, is not just a parking building, the city government said Wednesday.

Makati City Administrator Eleno Mendoza Jr. said the 12-storey building is actually an office building with parking floors. It has five floors of parking spaces and six floors of office spaces.

“We would like to clarify that the building being questioned is not merely a parking building. The parking areas are located in the basement and in the second up to sixth floors. The ground floor, seventh up to 10th floors house various offices, including frontline service offices, while the 11th and 12th floors hold the storage facilities and some office spaces,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the building, which was completed last March 2013, is considered a green building with its green architectural design. The 12-storey building has a landscaped roof deck, atrium at the seventh floor, LED lighting, and glass walls and panels that allow for sunlight to provide natural illumination to most areas during daytime.

Mendoza added that to ensure the strength and stability of the building, which stands on an area with soil type classified as ‘soft soil,’ bored piles and steel sheet piling were used for its foundation. It also has granite tile flooring, centralized airconditioning, two elevators, conference rooms and mini-function halls, and other modern amenities.

Mendoza said at present, the ground floor houses the Business Permits Office and License Division, both frontline service offices catering to the needs of residents and the business community. Meanwhile, vital offices on the upper floors include the Makati Action Center, Makati Anti-Drug Abuse Council Office, Office of Senior Citizens Affairs, Information and Community Relations Department, Department of Environmental Services, Museum and Cultural Affairs Office, Tourism Office, Redemption Center of the Public Safety Department and other offices.

Mayor Binay earlier said the filing was clearly linked to the 2016 presidential elections, saying it was done after Pulse Asia released the results of its latest presidential survey where Vice President Binay was ranked the top choice. 

Binay added that he and the vice president are ready to face these complaints and all other allegations from their opponents.

“The truth and the facts are on our aside. We just hope that the concerned agencies of government will be fair and impartial,” he said.

Binay also said the filing of the plunder case is not new as he had exposed it last June.

“This complaint is nothing new. Last June 16 we exposed to media a plan to file complaints before the Ombudsman against my father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, myself in my capacity as Mayor of Makati, and several former and current city officials. We said it would be about the Parking Building. We were correct. We said it would allege overpricing based on spurious grounds. We were correct. We said it would be filed by local opponents with a reputation for running and losing in all Makati elections. We were correct,” Binay said.

Binay also questioned the timing of the filing of the plunder complaint as it comes in the wake of a Pulse Asia survey result that shows that his father is a leading bet in the 2016 election for president.  

“The filing comes just after the results of a Pulse Asia survey showed my father as the leading choice for President, with 41 per cent. Clearly our opponents have become desperate to put my father down. Their intention is to malign him by raising baseless accusations like the ones raised in their so-called complaint,” he said.

Mayor Binay, his father and 21 other former and incumbent elected officials of Makati City were slapped by former  Barangay Palanan chairman Renato Bondal and former Barangay Olympia chairman Nicolas Enciso of plunder over the alleged overpriced construction of  the new Makati City Hall parking building.

In their nine-page complaint, Bondal and Enciso claimed that the new Makati City parking building was overpriced by some P1.3 billion.

The complainants claimed that the actual cost of the building according to data from the National Statistics Office should have be only at P245.5 million. The final contract price for the building was pegged at P1.56 billion.

They said that the initial appropriation of P400 million approved by the older Binay was overpriced by P154 million.

The complainants added that Mayo Binay along with the members of the city council, approved six more appropriation ordinances for the construction of the building, amounting to P1.16 billion.