Mayor Binay: NSO data invalid basis for plunder rap

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said Sunday that data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) are not reliable enough to judge whether the Makati City Hall Building 2 project was overpriced.

The statement comes as a defense from a plunder complaint filed against him, his father Vice President Jejomar Binay and other Makati City officials.

Binay said the NSO had admitted that its data of construction and building costs are limited as these were merely based on approved building applications and documentary requirements, and not on actual construction cost.

"If NSO data were to be used, the conclusion would be that other government projects like the Iloilo Convention Center are overpriced. We are not saying it is, only to emphasize the unreliability of using the NSO," Binay said.

Binay noted that the Makati City Hall Building 2 and the Iloilo Convention Center had Hillmarc's Construction Corporation (HCC) as contractor, known for projects such as the Sandiganbayan building, the Makati City Hall and the Makati Police headquarters.

"The cost of the Iloilo Convention Center, based on the Senate report, is P700 million. But if you use the NSO data, the cost should only be P86,265,600," Binay said.

Based on NSO data, the cost to construct a convention center should only be P13,000 per square meter, but the Iloilo project costs over P107,375 per square meter, the mayor said..

"So if you use the argument of [former barangay chairman] Renato Bondal which appears to be supported by Senator [Antonio] Trillanes, then the Iloilo Convention Center is overpriced by P613,734,400. Are they now saying the NSO data is correct only as far as Makati is concerned?" Binay said.

"Clearly, it would be wrong to use NSO data as basis for evaluating the appropriate costs of government projects," he added.

Trillanes had earlier called for a Senate investigation into the alleged overpricing of the construction of the Makati City Hall Building 2, the subject of a plunder complaint filed by Bondal, a losing Makati mayoral candidate.

"The plunder complaint is obviously politically motivated because Bondal and his co-accusers did not include their partymates who were themselves authors of the appropriation ordinance. They also did not include the ordinance among the evidence submitted to the Ombudsman," Binay said.

Binay had earlier scored Trillanes for having "prejudged the issue" without interest in ferreting out the truth. He said the senator seemed to have made up his mind on the issue, intending to use the Senate hearing only as "a platform to malign the name of the Vice President."

Binay has also demanded "no less than a public apology" from Trillanes and the Senate committee tasked to
conduct the probe once the allegations are proven to be false.

Binay also called the Senate inquiry unnecessary since the allegations have already been refuted in an intensive Commission on Audit review in February in response to a request made by the complainants. Moreover, the investigation process has started since the Ombudsman has asked the parties to comment.

Nevertheless, Binay said he and the Vice President were ready to face the Senate probe, but appealed to members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to remain impartial in conducting the investigation.

"We are hopeful that some senators, especially those who belong to the same parties as our local opponents in Makati, will set aside personal and political agendas during the hearing," Binay said.

The Binays' camp has maintained that the allegations of overpricing did not have factual nor legal basis, and were made as part of an organized demolition campaign against the Vice President, today's leading contender for the presidency in the 2016 elections.