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Once again, Vice President Jejomar Binay is being associated with controversial real estate.
“As he had previously announced, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has brought forth new corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay,” reports ANC.
The report noted: “Trillanes is now accusing Binay of pocketing PHP200 million in kickbacks from a joint venture between Alphaland and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) for the development of a prime property in Makati City.”
Trillanes claimed that said the PHP200 million was an initial “commission” or advance given to the Vice President for approving the Alphaland-BSP deal.
The Binay camp however denies Trillanes’s latest accusation. Binay’s spokesman, Atty. Rico Quicho said it was former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado and not Binay who directly negotiated and dealt with Alphaland.
Quicho stated, “This deal was signed by Mr. Mercado himself and no one else.”
The report pointed out that “Binay is the BSP national president while Mercado is the former BSP senior vice president and head of its asset management committee.”
Alphaland Corp. President Mario Oreta also said that “Mercado negotiated the deal between Alphaland and the BSP in his capacity as Senior Vice President and Head of Asset Management Committee.”
The report went on to say that “the controversial property is the Alphaland development which is located along Malugay and Ayala Avenue Extension in Makati City.”
The report revealed further: “It’s called ‘The City Club’ and offers several floors of state-of-the-art facilities for business, leisure, and entertainment. It has an athletic complex, including indoor tennis, basketball, squash, badminton courts, a landscaped pool, and jacuzzi areas. It is within walking distance from most of Makati’s major offices, residential buildings, and commercial establishments. It’s set for completion in the 3rd quarter of this year and is projected to have a market value of over PHP21 billion.”
Photo: Gulfnews.com screengrab (Binay) and dzMM website screengrab (Trillanes)
