Dismissed Makati mayor linked to P828-M shady infotech deal
Dismissed Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. is facing another plunder complaint for allegedly transacting business with two information technology companies whose stockholders were alleged dummies of his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Renato Bondal, a former barangay (village) captain in Makati City who lost to the younger Binay in the 2013 elections, filed the six-page complaint on Friday.
Last October, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the dismissal of the younger Binay in connection with the alleged overpricing of the P11.975-million contract for the design and architectural services of the Makati City Hall Building 2.
Binay was later replaced by his vice mayor, Romulo Pena, a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).
Bondal earlier filed two plunder complaints before the Ombudsman against Vice President Binay and Mayor Binay along with several others.
One case is connected with the allegedly anomalous P1.3-billion Makati Science High School Building, and another over the alleged misuse of P547.42 million funds meant for the University of Makati’s (UMak) College of Nursing (now College of Applied Health Studies).
Also named respondents in the latest complaint were the corporate officers of Codeworks.PH Inc. (CPI), namely: chairman and president Marguerite Lichnock; board directors Lily Crystal, Arlene Viclar and Ramona Yuson; and treasurer Mitzi Sedillo.
Also sued were officers of Powerlink.com Corp. (PCC), namely: Chairman and President Hirene Lopez; treasurer and director Edgardo Lacson; corporate secretary Jacqueline Arevalo; general manager Allan Tienzo; and directors Ferdinand Diaz and Gerardo Martin Limlingan.
Bondal said CPI and PCC “cornered a total of P828 million worth of IT services from Makati.”
In the complaint, he cited testimony of Violeta Lazo, the acting head of Makati’s General Services Department, during an August 29, 2015 Senate blue ribbon sub-committee hearing.
Lazo testified that in their initial findings on the service contracts entered into by the Makati City government covering the review period of 2008 to 2014, CPI was paid P526.536 million while PCC was paid P322,155,675.
Bondal pointed out that Lichnock, who leads the CPI as chairman and president, is the wife of Gerry Limlingan and alleged that a CPI corporate secretary —who was not named as a respondent in the complaint - “holds several joint accounts with Gerry Limlingan.”
“Based on published new reports regarding the Anti-Money Laundering Council actions against Jejomar C. Binay, et. al., Gerardo Limlingan maintained joint accounts with Jejomar C. Binay and/or with Eduvijes Baloloy a.k.a Ate Ebeng,” he said.
Further, Bondal alleged that PCC President Lopez also holds several joint accounts with Gerry Limlingan and identified its treasurer Lacson as “a businessman who previously admitted that he was a friend of both VP Binay and Limlingan.”
PCC Director Gerardo Martin Limlingan is Gerry’s son, he said.
“It has been fairly established that it was a standard operating procedure during the incumbency of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay as Mayor of Makati, all biddings were rigged and prearranged so the these lucrative contracts were won by chosen companies fronted by so called ‘incorruptors’ or incorporators for the benefit of their Godfather, Jojo Binay and Junjun Binay during the latter’s incumbency as heir to the mayoralty throne,” Bondal added.
“The repetitive utilization of corporate dummies or fronts establishes that the Binays had direct financial interest i the financial windfalls generated by these companies through assured awards of lucrative contracts from the Makati city government,” he said.
Bondal stated in the complaint that said actions were in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Plunder Law.
“These companies were shell companies as in fact the actual and real work is e, as covered by the service contracts, by the employees of Urban Development Department of the Makati City Government and not by employees of these companies. Hence, the purported services rendered by these companies are really shams and fictitious,” he said.
“This complaint is filed to give justice to the people of Makati and the Filipino at large, who have been defrauded for 29 long years, with taxpayers’ money stolen through ingenious use of front companies contracting with the city government of Makati,” Bondal added.
Last October, the Ombudsman found ground to file charges before the Sandiganbayan against the Vice President and his son as well as 22 others in connection with the allegedly anomalous bidding and construction of the P2.28-billion Makati Building 2, which project was undertaken from 2007 to 2013.
Vice President Binay—who was a former Makati mayor—faces four counts of alleged violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, six counts of falsification and one count of malversation for his supposed involvement in phases 1 and 2 of the project.
Meanwhile Binay Jr. faces four counts of alleged violation of Section 3(e) of the anti-graft law, six counts of falsification and one count of malversation for his supposed involvement in phases 2 to 6 of the project.
The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by Bondal and Nicolas Enciso before the Office of the Ombudsman last year over the construction of the New Makati City Hall Building 2, which was allegedly overpriced by P2 billion.