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The acting head of Makati's general services department found interlocking stockholders and signs of collusion in contracts alleged Binay dummies bagged

 
Ayee Macaraig
@ayeemacaraig
Published 4:34 PM, August 26, 2015
Updated 9:49 PM, Aug 26, 2015

 

INTERLOCKING OWNERS. Lawyer Renato Bondal presents this illustration of the supposed 'Binay syndicate' of interlocking owners of companies that won Makati contracts. From Bondal's Powerpoint presentation


MANILA, Philippines – Alleged dummies of Vice President Jejomar Binay cornered the bulk of Makati's IT, janitorial, and security services worth P5.6 billion ($120 million) by running the same companies that won bids in the span of almost a decade.

This is the “initial finding” of a review of Makati's service contracts that the leadership of Acting Makati Mayor Kid Peña ordered.

Violeta Lazo, acting head of Makati's general services department, told the Senate that her office found interlocking stockholders and signs of collusion in the contracts.

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Lawyer Renato Bondal, a political rival of the Binays in Makati, identified the incorporators of the two firms as supposed dummies of the Vice President linked to past anomalies raised in the Senate inquiry. He said the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) froze their bank accounts along with Binay.

Codeworks incorporators

1. Marguerite Lichnock – wife of alleged Binay bagman Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan, director of the Meriras Realty and Development Corporation linked to the alleged Comembo land scam, chairman of Omni Security

2. Lily Crystal – Limlingan's assistant, who had a joint account with Limlingan and Binay's personal secretary Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy, administrator of Agrifortuna Incorporated, which owned the so-called “Hacienda Binay”

3. Mitzi Sedillo – assistant treasurer and director of Agrifortuna, Limlingan's secretary

Powerlink directors and officers

1. Gerardo Limlingan – Binay financial adviser, president of JC Binay Foundation, director and major stockholder of Meriras, missing since Senate hearings began

2. Edgardo Lacson – director and treasurer of JC Binay Foundation, consultant on trade and finance of the Office of the Vice President, Board of Trustees of Pag-IBIG Fund

3. Hirene Lopez – Omni treasurer, corporate secretary of Agrifortuna, wife of University of Makati President Tomas Lopez

Calling the group "Binay syndicate," Bondal said: “It's just the same names. Their papers just go around in circles. Sometimes, the person would be a chairman, treasurer, or president.”

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'Advanced info given'

For security services, the cost was P2.38 billion ($50 million) from 2005 to 2014. Of this amount, Omni Security cornered P1.7 billion ($40 million) or 71%.

Lazo said that in the bidding, Omni often competed with Vican Investigation and Security Agency Inc. Her department found that Omni director Aida Alcantara was also the corporate secretary of Vican. She called this a “clear case of collusion.”



SAME OFFICER? Lazo says Omni Security and its supposed competitor in the bidding Vican had the same officer, Aida Alcantara. Slide from Lazo's Powerpoint presentation

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LEAKED INFO? Janitorial services contractor Corporate Solutions allegedly knew of the bidding a month before it was announced. Slide from Lazo's Powerpoint presentation

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Binay earned P2 billion

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that Binay and his alleged dummies supposedly earned roughly P2 billion ($40 million) from the Makati contracts, up from his initial estimate of P1 billion ($20 million).

Without providing specifics, the senator said 20% of the cost of IT projects went to salaries and taxes, while 80% or P700 million ($15 million) was Binay's kickback.

Trillanes then added this figure to the amount that former Makati city bids and awards vice chairman Mario Hechanova provided. Hechanova testified that Binay supposedly got a kickback of P1.26 billion ($30 million) from the janitorial and security services.

Hechanova said the amount included the money given to ghost personnel, and profits. He presented a computation on a Powerpoint slide but without supporting documents.

Trillanes also questioned the expenses for the services. He said he could not understand why Makati spent P2.38 billion just for janitorial services.

“This only covers the offices of the city hall, not the whole Makati, for people to grasp the magnitude of the corruption,” Trillanes said. The amount covered contracts for 9 years.

The senator also asked why Makati needed 600 security guards, when it could have hired just 400. Hechanova responded that the number included those assigned to Binay's house, and to his supposed secret Batangas estate, the so-called Hacienda Binay.

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