By: Czarina Nicole O. Ong
Former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay and his son, former Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., are in hot water again after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of graft and falsification charges against them over the anomalous P1.3 billion procurement done for the Makati Science High School Building.
The said building located on Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City was supposed to be a 10-storey edifice with a four-storey dormitory. However, it was only completed as a 10-storey building.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales issued two separate resolutions on August 1 indicting the Binays for four counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) and three counts of falsification of public documents.
The elder Binay was indicted for starting the project, while the younger Binay for his role in the latter part of the building project.
It was on September 26, 2007 when the elder Binay, who was still mayor of Makati, entered into a P17.37-million contract with Infiniti for the Architectural & Engineering (A&E) consultancy services for the design of the Makati Science Building.
The contract was rigged with irregularities, such as the decision to go with negotiated procurement instead of competitive bidding, non-compliance with the required posting of the invitation to bid, and several misrepresentations regarding the alleged bid negotiations, submission and opening of bids, according to Ombudsman record.
