The last time I canvassed a cake for my eldest sister's birthday, the most expensive costs P570. I would have loved to go to Makati, pretend that I'm a senior citizen and receive a cake worth more than P1,000 even if it's not my birthday. The mayor surely is a generous big-hearted person.
The demolition job for Vice President Jejomar Binay has already started. Various allegations have popped up and his poll stats dropped to almost 30% because he is pinning to run for President next year. From cakes to buildings to properties in Batangas, everything is being gunned down not only to him but also his son Makati Mayor Erwin Jejomar Binay Jr. Cakes are wonderful for senior citizens which spells philanthropy, until one realizes one cake for reach senior costs more than P1,000. Car parking buildings are good for the thousand cars in Makati, until one realizes it costs P2.71 billion, which should be originally P1.56 billion. A 66-hectare farm in Rosario, Batangas helps boost the agricultural status of the country, until one realizes that such property is not declared in the mayor's assets and liabilities.
Let us pity the mayor because the demolition job for him is at work. Let us also get acquainted with him better for he is a good mayor who has made Makati glorious. He has been delivering wonderful cakes to the elderly in Makati that are overpriced and cost more than P1,000. That is not bad at all. If our dear mayor is such a philanthropist, then let him be. What's your problem?
The mayor is currently facing plunder and graft charges and violation of the procurement law for the overpriced 11-story Makati government building that allegedly cost P2.71 billion. There were complaints filed against the father and the son with the Ombudsman last August 18. The complaints showed that the Makati building is "more scandalously overpriced" . This was because the building was bid five times to different contractors, and the splitting of the bid into five phases is what exactly violates RA 9184. But hey, Binay insisted that the Commission on Audit (COA) has audited the whole project for five years and for ten times but found no anomaly. Don't be alarmed, he reassured, for the building had an average cost of P84,000 per square meter. Moreover allegations from former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado said that the mayor has been receiving kickbacks for every project conducted in the city during his term. In summary, all he wanted was a posh building for his city. Is there a law that prohibits that?
Let us tour the alleged overpriced building. The flush-type toilet bowl in the building ranges between P13,000 to P32,000. The wash basin you would be using after you take a leak costs P11,000 to P25,000; the dryer, P17,000 to P62,000. All in all the majority of the fixture features in the building rose by around 300% on a per unit basis. He didn't spare the paper holder, which cost P490 in 2010, P750 in 2011 and finally P1,138 in the last bid. It's not that extravagant, is it?
Finally, let us tour his 66-hectare farm in Rosario, Batangas. It is said to be estimated to double the size of the Ayala Commercial Center in Makati which costs P23 million. There's more: he owns two Hidalgo condominium units in the luxurious Rockwell Center in Makati, of which this 208-square meter unit costs P28 million. The common denominator? They are all undeclared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), which violates the Republic Act 6713.
In any case, this is never about any demolition job for the mayor because he's expected to run as President in 2016. The Senate has passed the Freedom of Information Bill under Senate Bill No. 1733 last March 2014. Yet nothing has changed much because these "philanthropists" and mayors still refuse to disclose their documents. When will they oblige to such law, the ordinary Filipino citizen and the magtataho would never know. All we have are nice-sounding laws and bills, but are not engraved in stone and are merely ignored by the same government who amended and passed it. These are the people whom we should follow orders from, but it seems that there is not even order among themselves.
