Edu says he will sue Mayor Binay

Charges of graft and abuse of authority will be filed by Makati City Vice Mayor Edu Manzano against Mayor Elenita Binay.

Speaking for the first time since he was accused of impeding the release of funds for the implementation of critical projects, Manzano said the case will be filed either before the Office of the President or the Ombudsman.

Manzano charged the mayor of violating the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Anti-Graft Practices Act. He has been the subject of criticisms from the Makati City Hall as represented by the mayor and the city council for his supposed inaction in signing the resolutions, ordinances and checks for various contracts and projects.

In particular, Manzano was accused of sitting on a critical contract of the city government in relation to solid waste management.

The subject involved was an ordinance pertaining to the renewal of the contracts of the city’s garbage collection firms. The council approved the said ordinance in light of the current garbage situation and submitted the document to the vice mayor for his signature.

Manzano explained that he refused to sign the ordinance until details of the contracts were presented to him by the council. However, he claimed that the council was uncooperative, and as such, he decided to wait until his demands were satisfied. He added that soon after, the ordinance was signed into law by the mayor even without first securing his signature.

Manzano claimed this was a clear violation of the Local Government Code of 1991 which requires checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Meanwhile, Binay’s camp dismissed Manzano allegations as politically motivated. City legal officer Jewel Bulos said Manzano was joining "the bandwagon of political aspirants who have started filing cases against their rivals in the upcoming elections."

Manzano is reportedly planning to run for mayor against Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman and former mayor Jejomar Binay.

"The election season has already started. This is obviously the reason behind the vice mayor’s announcement. Clearly the timing is suspect and the motive is obvious," Bulos said.

Bulos added that Manzano is attempting to escape the ire of the barangay leaders of the city who earlier assailed him for "holding hostage" the city budget.

Councilor Mark Joseph, a supporter of Manzano, explained that under the law, contracts, ordinances and resolutions have to go through the Office of the Vice Mayor before securing final approval from the mayor.

Other similar cases were cited by Manzano particularly in the procurement of furniture and office equipment for the city government.
In two separate ordinances, over P600 million in furniture and fixtures were appropriated by the city council for the newly constructed Makati City Hall.

Manzano said he asked for copies of the items involved in the two contracts before signing the ordinances. "There is no law that compels me to sign ordinances. I don’t think it should be rushed. I wanted to manifest my thoughts first. In times like this when money is tight, we should exercise prudence," Manzano said.

He claimed that there were instances in the past that showed anomalies in the procurement of office equipment which became the basis for his being meticulous.