Ex-ally testifies vs Elenita Binay

MANILA, Philippines -  Former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, who used to be a staunch ally of the Binays, yesterday appeared before the Sandiganbayan to testify against the family’s matriarch Elenita Binay.

Mercado testified for the first time before the court’s Fifth Division at the continuation of the hearing of the graft case against Elenita filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2006.

The case stemmed from the allegedly anomalous purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P72.06 million in 1999, during Elenita’s term as Makati mayor.

The ombudsman said the purchase was done through rigged bidding.

During his testimony, Mercado confirmed the existence of a Commission on Audit (COA) report on the transactions and contracts of the Makati City government entered into with various private firms during Elenita’s term as mayor.

Mercado confirmed that included in the report is the result of the COA’s investigation on the purchase of the office partitions and furniture in 1999.

The specific findings of the report were not discussed during the hearing, but the prosecution had earlier said that the COA report would show that almost all the transactions during Binay’s term were tainted with anomalies such as overpricing and rigged biddings.

Mercado said the original copy of the COA report came to his possession in July 2014, when it was handed to him by the late city administrator Nicanor Santiago.

Mercado said Santiago, as city administrator, took custody of the report since 2002. Mercado recounted that Santiago instructed him to bring back the report to then COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza.

Mendoza was the leader of the special team who conducted an audit on the Makati City government’s transactions.

Mercado said he finally decided to meet with Mendoza on Aug. 20, 2014 to hand over the report as he was “bothered” by his conscience following Santiago’s death earlier that month.

He said the day he met with Mendoza is memorable to him at it was also the day the Senate started its investigation on the alleged anomalies concerning then vice president Jejomar Binay Sr. and his family.

Mercado later testified against Binay Sr. during the Senate probe, particularly on the alleged overpriced construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.

In a chance interview with reporters after the hearing, Mercado said he is also willing to testify not only on the cases against Elenita but also against Binay Sr. and their son, former Makati mayor Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.

Father and son are facing multiple criminal cases before the Sandiganbayan over the Makati parking building anomaly. The trial of the cases, however, has yet to commence since they were filed in July last year.

Vacation in Japan

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan has granted Elenita’s motion to stay in Japan for one week for a vacation.

In separate rulings issued by the court’s Third and Fifth Divisions, Elenita was allowed to stay in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan from April 1 to 8 subject to preconditions such as the posting of P420,000 travel bond. Elenita was also directed to personally appear before the Third and Fifth Divisions’ respective clerks of court within five days upon her return to the country.

Elenita is facing two counts of graft and two counts of malversation of public funds before the Third Division in connection with the allegedly anomalous purchase of hospital beds worth P36.43 million in 2001 and autoclave sterilizers worth P8.83 million in 2000 for Ospital ng Makati or OsMak during her term as the city mayor.