VP Binay will be invited to attend the hearing on Makati bldg

The sub-Committee chairperson said to the radio on Saturday that Vice President Jejomar Binay will be requested to attend the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee hearing on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building 2.  Following the other resource persons testimonies, Binay’s presence will be expected at the hearing.

The sub-Committee chairperson said the hearing was scheduled on September 11, Thursday next week. Pimentel, however, made it clear that Binay has the option to accept or reject the invitation.

The senator said they will again screen former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and Engineer Mario Hechanova, who is the former head of Makati City's general services department and vice chairman of the bids and awards committee, over their claims that there were anomalies in the transactions covering the construction of the building.

On the next week’s hearing, Binay, his son Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, and several other government officials that are connected to the projects will be the subject of a plunder complaint regarding 22-storey Makati parking area building.

Earlier, Mercado  told the Senate that he and Binay, his previous ally in the project, got  kickbacks the construction of the building.

Hechanova, meanwhile, said the bidding for the P2.2 billion building was arranged in favor of Hilmarc's Construction Corporation by Binay, when during the time when Binay was the mayor of Makati City.  

Pimentel also said that the Senate will also ask for the  clarification on the total floor area of the building as well as the construction cost per square meter.