Makati ex-Vice Mayor Mercado faces plunder rap

MANILA, Philippines - A private complainant on Tuesday filed plunder and graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against former Makati City Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado for admitting to have pocketed P80 million from Vice President Jejomar Binay's alleged kickbacks.

 

Louie "Barok" Biraogo, a native of Davao City, said the pieces of evidence he has against Mercado were the admission of the former vice mayor during the Senate inquiry into the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Binay, who was then Makati mayor.

 

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Mercado admitted that Binay promised to give him P120 million as campaign kitty but he only got P80 million. 

 

The funds for the campaign in 2010 vice presidential elections allegedly came from the P1 billion kickbacks amassed by Binay from anomalous transactions during his term as mayor. 

 

In filing the charges against Mercado, Biraogo was quick to deny any links to the Binays, claiming no one is backing him in suing the former vice mayor. 

 

Mercado is now under the Department of Justice's Witness Protection Program along with several others for testifying against his former benefactor.