There’s a whole lot of drama in this probe, but we don’t know if it’ll lead to anything significant.
“Atty. Renato Bondal, who filed a plunder complaint against Makati Mayor Junjun Binay alleged during the Wednesday, August 20, Senate probe that other government projects in the city were also overpriced,” reports Louis Bacani on Philstar.com.
While the probe was supposed to focus on the Makati City Hall II building, Bondal claimed that the Makati City Hall itself was overpriced at PHP7 billion. He then added that the Ospital ng Makati 1 and the Makati Science Highschool building were overpriced as well.
Moreover, Bondal said “the birthday cakes given by the Makati City government to senior citizens cost more than PHP1,000, which is more expensive than the similar cakes of two popular establishments worth PHP570 and PHP390.”
The report noted: “Senator Koko Pimentel, head of the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee holding the Senate hearing, urged Bondal not to delve into the matter. But Senator Antonio Trillanes IV defended the lawyer.”
Trillanes was quoted as saying, “I think Atty. Bondal was trying to prove a point that in Makati, it’s not just building that are sources of the alleged kickbacks, but cakes, too.”
Speaking of the cakes, a 2013 ABS-CBNnews.com report noted Senator Nancy Binay denied the allegations that she owns the company that supplies the cakes given to Makati’s senior citizens during their birthdays and golden wedding anniversaries.
Screengrab from a News5 video
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