‘Lawyer of Makati building contractor in conflict of interest’

MANILA, Philippines - A lawyer of Makati City building contractor Hilmarcs Construction Corp. (HCC) worked for the city government of Valenzuela, where the company also obtained building contracts, a lawmaker revealed yesterday.

Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said lawyer Rogelio Peig put himself in a conflict-of-interest situation by having Hilmarcs and Valenzuela City as employers at the same time.

“Mr. Peig should explain how is it possible for him to serve as BAC (bids and awards committee) chairman for Valenzuela projects, while he told the Senate under oath that he has been the lawyer of Hilmarcs since 2001,” he said.

Among the city projects Peig handled and which Hilmarcs won were the city council building, police headquarters, city jail and the renovation of the old city hall.

“His concurrent positions as HCC lawyer and BAC chairman put him in very clear conflict-of-interest situation. He should have resigned from either position. But his Senate testimony and Valenzuela City records show that he never did that,” said Ridon, himself a lawyer.

Reacting to Ridon’s accusation, the office of Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian admitted that Peig was its former city administrator but that he did not tell city officials that he was working for Hilmarcs.

“Attorney Peig did not disclose that he was connected with HCC. The city government acted as an employer in good faith when it hired Peig as city administrator,” it said.

It said the city would not have hired him had it learned that he was a lawyer at the same time for the Makati building contractor.

As city administrator from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, Peig was automatically BAC chairman, the city said in its statement.

“Nowhere in his Form 212 did attorney Peig disclose his affiliation with HCC. The document will speak for itself. If there was conflict of interest, that’s for Atty. Peig to answer,” it added.

Mayor Gatchalian and his congressman-brother Sherwin are allies of Binay.

Unlike the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building constructed by Hilmarcs, Ridon said he did not see any sign of overpricing in the case of the Valenzuela projects.

He said the documents he has examined show that such projects cost as low as P18,000 per square meter, compared to P60,000 for the Makati parking building.

However, Ridon said the Valenzuela City government should fully explain why Hilmarcs won its building projects, especially with Peig’s involvement in the bidding or procurement and contractor selection process.

The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee headed by Senators Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano is investigating the allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay on overpricing of the construction of a building during his tenure as Makati City mayor.

Former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado stood as a witness against Binay, accusing his former mayor of enriching himself through the proceeds of overpricing the city projects.

Mercado revealed before the Senate that Binay owned a P1.2-billion estate in Rosario, Batangas.

Trillanes and Cayetano supported Mercado’s claim that the 350-hectare estate was placed under the name of a corporation owned by businessman Antonio Tiu in order to hide its true ownership.

Hilmarcs, on the other hand, has been identified as the firm that constructed the Makati City Hall II parking building, which is the subject of the allegations of overpricing against Binay.

Downfall

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said the allegations against Binay that he used dummies to hide some of his assets, if left unexplained, could lead to his downfall.

She said the “bombshell” dropped by Mercado about the P1.2-billion estate in Batangas allegedly owned by Binay was the most dramatic.

Santiago said the creation of a dummy corporation was meant to avoid personal liability, particularly in the declaration of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

She explained the country’s Anti-Dummy Law refers to foreigners only but the charge of using dummies is criminalized by several laws, including the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Law, Forfeiture Law and the Anti-Plunder Law.  “Ill-gotten wealth embraces the crimes of malversation of public funds, receiving kickbacks or, as stated in the PCGG rules and regulations, through the establishment of agricultural, industrial or commercial monopolies or other combination and/or by the issuance, promulgation and/or implementation of decrees and orders intended to benefit particular persons or special interests,” Santiago said.  – With Marvin Sy, Christina Mendez