Trillanes: Binay dummy firms cornered P1B in Makati contracts

Mara Cepeda

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Trillanes: Binay dummy firms cornered P1B in Makati contracts
The Vice President's camp fires back, saying Senator Antonio Trillanes 'is a sham' who 'bullies people and destroys institutions to cover up his own web of lies'

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV claimed on Monday, August 24, that the Makati city government awarded around P1 billion worth of contracts to alleged dummy companies of Vice President Jejomar Binay, who was Makati mayor for 21 years.

Speaking to reporters, Trillanes said details of his new findings will be revealed on Wednesday, August 26, during the next Senate blue ribbon subcommittee’s hearing on the corruption allegations against Binay and members of his family. (READ: Makati losing P367M a year from ‘ghost’ beneficiaries – official)

Ang ilalabas natin ay ‘yung mga janitorial services, security services, IT (information technology) services sa Makati [na] lahat kinorner ng mga kumpanya ni Vice President Binay. Ito ay nagkakahalaga [ng] lagpas P1 billion a year,” the senator said.

(We are going to reveal the companies providing janitorial, security, and IT services that were cornered by Vice President Binay’s companies. The contracts are worth more than P1 billion a year.)

According to Trillanes, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr, the Vice President’s son who is currently serving a 6-month preventive suspension order for allegedly overpricing the Makati Science High School building, was not originally responsible for the said contracts.

Hindi inimbento ni Mayor Junjun Binay [ang mga kontratang ito]. Lahat ito [ay] minana niya [mula] kay VP Binay,” said the senator. (Mayor Junjun Binay did not invent these contracts. He inherited all of them from VP Binay.)

Daang-daang milyon ang kinikita nila dito (They are earning hundreds of millions from these),” Trillanes added.

 “Hindi pinaboran [ang mga kumpanya] dahil kaibigan nila [ang may-ari], kundi kanila talaga…. Makikita niyo lahat kung papaano nila minaniobra para ma-corner itong mga kontratang ito,” he said.

(The Binays didn’t favor the companies because their friends owned the businesses, but the concerned companies were favored because the Binays owned the companies themselves… You will see how they were able to operate in order to corner the contracts.)

Last year, Rappler discovered that Binay’s close associate, Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan, had been monopolizing security and janitorial services in Makati. (READ: Victor Limlingan: I don’t know where my brother is)

Trillanes said he would be presenting documents to support his latest claims during Wednesday’s hearing, which will be the 24th in one of the longest investigations in Senate history.

‘Trillanes is a sham’

Trillanes said Binay, the opposition party United Nationalist Alliance’s standard-bearer for 2016, does not deserve to run for president because he has refused to appear before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee.

The Vice President and his camp have repeatedly dismissed the hearings as a “kangaroo court” and a “teleserye (drama series)” scripted to derail his presidential bid.

Ang tatapang pag nag-o-operate, pero ‘pag harapan na, wala naman. Sabi ko hindi puwedeng maging presidente ‘yung ganyan, walang bayag,” Trillanes said.

(They’re brave when they’re operating, but when it’s face-to-face, they give nothing…. I say, someone like that who has no balls can’t be president.)

In a text message sent to Rappler, lawyer Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesperson for political affairs, said Trillanes “always puts the cart before the horse, concluding even before his allegations.”

“For the last one year of his inquisition of the Vice President, only one thing has been proven: Senator Trillanes is a sham,” Quicho said.

The lawyer recently asked the Senate ethics committee to investigate Trillanes’ consultants, whom Senate documents revealed to have been receiving unusually high salaries. (READ: Houseboy, drivers as consultants? Senate should ‘investigate Trillanes’)

“[Trillanes] whets curiosity with his so-called evidence manufactured from his overpaid and numerous consultants. Worst, he bullies people and [destroys] institutions to cover up his own web of lies,” said Quicho.

“Senator Trillanes said that [the] VP has no balls. If he is really tough like what he portrays, he should strip his immunity and face the charges of the VP in the appropriate court.” – with a report from Carmela Fonbuena/Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Clothing, Apparel, Person

author

Mara Cepeda

Mara Cepeda specializes in stories about politics and local governance. She covers the Office of the Vice President, the Senate, and the Philippine opposition. She is a 2021 fellow of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship of the UN. Got tips? Email her at mara.cepeda@rappler.com or tweet @maracepeda.