Jore properties linked to Binay; sm turns tables on jercado

Former Makati City vice mayor Ernesto Mercado yesterday revealed that Vice President Jejomar C. Binay allegedly owns several condominium units in the city.

At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee’s probe into the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II, Mercado, a former ally of the Vice President, disclosed that Binay allegedly has at least six other properties under the names of his “favorite” dummies.

But the camp of the Vice President turned the tables on Mercado, saying it is the former vice mayor who is allegedly covering up his ownership of

many undeclared properties.

The six condominium units referred by Mercado are: Unit 2801 of The Peak Tower Condominium under the name of Ariel Olivar, surveyor of the vast estate in Rosario, Batangas; Unit 2801 of the Le Triomphe Condo under the name of one Celso Santiago, whom Mercado said is the uncle of Binay’s wife and former Makati mayor Elenita Binay; Unit 906 of the Makati Sunrise Hotel (now Berjaya Hotel) under Santiago’s name; Unit 797 of The Perla Compania De Seguros Mansion Condotel under the name of a certain Benjamin Zapanta, who he said is linked with a contractor to various projects in Makati City; Unit 2316 of the Prince Plaza Condotel under the name of Santos Panlilio, the alleged contractor of the Makati Pabahay Program and other projects; and Unit 5B of the Avignon Tower that Mercado said is under the name of Panlilio’s wife, Aurora.

According to Mercado, these “dummies” were unwilling participants but were afraid of the Vice President.

Olivar has already executed an affidavit to refute ownership of the property.

In his sworn statement, Olivar confirmed he was the registered owner of Unit 2801 at the Peak Tower on Leviste Street, Makati, under Condominium Certificate of Title No. 81111 dated July 31, 2003.

“However, I am not the true and beneficial owner of the property – I am not the purchaser for value, nor have I at any time exercised any act of ownership over the property,” Olivar said in the document.

“My name was registered as owner to conceal the identity of the true owner of the property. I know the true owner of the property to be Vice President Jejomar Binay,” he said. Remulla: Mercado owns Peak Tower condo unit But Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, Binay’s spokesman for political concerns, said it is Mercado, not Binay, who is the real owner of the Peak Tower condo unit.

The condo unit was the scene of the still unresolved death of a comedian’s daughter in 2002,” Remulla said.

“Contrary to the claims made in the Senate that Vice President Jejomar Binay is using a dummy to hide his owner- ship of a condominium unit at The Peak Tower, what we know is that Mr. Ernesto Mercado is the real owner of the unit,” Remulla said in a statement.

Remulla said it is the same unit where Racquel Ambrosio, daughter of the late comedian Babalu, used to reside.

“This is also the location of the shooting incident in which Mercado was considered by the police as the prime suspect,” Binay’s spokesman said.

The Cavite governor related that based on police reports, Ambrosio died from a gunshot wound in the stomach after allegedly figuring in an altercation with Mercado on April 24, 2002.

“Based on reports, the gun used in the shooting was registered to Mercado. He surrendered the gun a day after the incident,” Remulla said.

Mercado, who is under the government Witness Protection Program, could not be reached for comment.

‘Mercado dummy’ Likewise, Remulla dared Olivar “to come clean with all properties in his name, since he is a surveyor known to be working and fronting for Mercado.”

According to Remulla, Olivar was also on the flight manifest of the helicopter that took photos and videos of the Rosario property of Sunchamp, a vast real estate being linked to Binay.

“We challenge Mr. Olivar to divulge all properties under his name. He is known to be a dummy of Mr. Mercado,” Remulla said.

“Moreover, how can a supposed dummy of the Vice President be on the same manifest of the chartered helicopter used to take aerial photos and videos of the Sunchamp property on October 2?” he asked.

All lies As for the other condominium units being linked to the Vice President, Remulla said that they are “barefaced lies” of Mercado who was a former buddy of the Binay during his time as Makati mayor.

“Mercado’s allegations on the other supposed condominium units are “barefaced lies, mere allegations unsupported as usual by evidence,” he said.

He enumerated Mercado’s accusations against Binay that turned out to be “false.”

“This is also yet another one of Mercado’s lies. Take for example the alleged architectural services contract he claims was allegedly signed by Mrs. Binay and an architect that out to be a forgery,” Remulla said.

“Then there are the receipts from Tagaytay Highlands which do not prove ownership of a log cabin as Mercado has claimed, a fact attested to by the corporation that runs Tagaytay Highlands,” he added.

Binay’s “air-conditioned piggery also was nothing but a hoax,” he said.

Condo transactions Mercado said Binay’s ownership of the units was made possible because initial transactions with the Makati City Engineering Office, which evaluates applications for building permits, is already tainted with corruption.

He also said that based on the system of applying for an occupancy permit in Makati City, a developer has to haggle with the city engineer in order to get adjustments in real property tax.

The former vice mayor said the occupancy permit is very vital as this is the basis to start payment of real estate taxes. He said that if occupancy permit is delayed, say for one year, then at least P40 million in taxes is saved. So for a condominium owner, giving a unit condo unit makes sense, Mercado said.

Mercado said that even though the “modus” was already common knowledge among major developers in Makati City, none of them have the guts to spill the beans.

“I just hope that they would have enough courage to speak out in order to finish this investigation,” Mercado told Senate probers at the hearing.

Also during the hearing, Mercado decided to “voluntarily surrender” to the government the four-hectare land which was part of the sprawling Batangas estate under his name.

The land would now be up for distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Binay has denied owning the controversial Batangas estate and other properties being linked to his family. He also denied the Makati City Hall Building II and the Makati Science High School is overpriced.

Overpriced? Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano charged yester- day that the still unfinished P1.3-billion, 10- story Makati Science High School (MSHS) building was overpriced by as much as P600 million, a claim Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan would not agree with.

Tan said the COA had the project “red flagged” because the Makati city government’s approved agency estimate (AAE) in September, 2007, was P348.6 million but ‘’after several years, payments were already P1.3 billion.”

But Tan did not make a categorical statement that the building built under the tenure of current Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Jun Jun” Binay was overpriced.

“I am not making any judgment that the building was overpriced. We are not in a position to make such conclusion. All I am saying… in so far… based on records on file, there are reasons matinding rason (compelling reason) why we go back into these projects,” she added.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee chairman, and Sen. Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV made an inspection of the MSHS last Saturday.

Cayetano cited the assessment Federico Cuervo, president and chief executive officer of the Cuervo Valuers & Advisory Inc., that the market value of the MSHS is P489 million at a construction cost of P24,000 per square-meter.

Cuervo also stated that the MSHS has no proper ventilation and its doors were not properly built as they open inwards, and not the acceptable outward swing to provide easy exit in case of fire.

Tan also admitted that the COA lack the technical capacities to determine the quantities of materials used in a project and what hurt the COA is that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“We are in a very state of record management and we don’t have the space or the system. At the provinces, records are in sacks. Especially with what is happening, it is dangerous because we are losing documents,” she said.

“I just received a report yesterday that one of the warehouses we have been using in Makati documents had been opened. We are still checking if all the records are there,” she added. (With a report from Mario B. Casayuran)