P2.2B or P2.7B? Experts find Makati City Hall Building II ordinary

 

Experts on Monday agreed the Makati City Hall Building II is not an establishment that can be considered world class as Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. claimed before a Senate committee hearing last month.

 

At the end of an inspection conducted by the Blue Ribbon subcommittee on the alleged overpriced building, quantity surveyor Greg Jackson, Danny Alano of the Philippine Institute of Architects,  and licensed real estate broker and consultant Federico Cuervo said the building was just average.

 

Jackson said the finishing and materials used on the building are standard and that there was nothing unusual about the building or its design.

 

“As I advised, it’s an average standard office building. I’d say it’s a modern building of average standard, but I wouldn’t consider it to be world-class standard,” Jackson said when asked by subcommittee chairman Senator Aquilino Pimentel III.

 

Alano also said what he saw was an average, not an exceptional, building.

 

When asked after the hearing what he meant, Alano said: “When you say world class, dapat you can compare it with any five-star hotel or condominium... You know... the fixtures they use... Everything considered, siguro naman nakita na hindi ito ganun.”

Gypsum boards, vinyl linoleum

 

He said the internal walls were made of gypsum boards anchored on metal frames which is lighter and fire-proof and usually used on partitions, while the cement floor was covered with vinyl.
 

Gypsum boards and vinyl linoleum were cheaper than concrete walls and granite, he said.

 

Alano declined to comment if the building was overpriced, saying he has yet to see the plan.

 

Cuervo, meanwhile, said he expected to see a premium building but that was not what he saw. “Definitely not... With that price, I expected a premium building. It is not a premium building,” he said and labeled the building as Class B.

 

He also believed it was not a good idea to use the topmost floor as storage area. The 11th floor of the Makati building houses several storage rooms.

 

“It is a very expensive floor to be used for storage,” he said, and noted the need to further fix the ceiling.

Cracks

 

During the inspection, Senators Pimentel and Antonio Trillanes IV noted a crack lining one of the walls on the 10th floor, which will house the National Statistics Office branch, Zoning Administration Division, Custodian Office, and more storage rooms.

 

Pimentel noted the 11th floor was hot, which means there was no centralized air conditioning unit.

 

Trillanes asked why the 9th, 10th and 11th floors of the building were yet to be occupied.

 

These were already reserved, but the tenants have yet to move in, said James Encisa of the Makati Office of the City Building Official. 

 

The senator also noted the parking area has no sensors unlike those in some malls.

 

“This is an ordinary carpark,” he said, adding that there was nothing extraordinary about the building.

 

Cracks were also visible on the ramp of the 4th floor parking area, but Alano said there was nothing unusual about those cracks. “Normal lang 'yun, hindi naman (substandard),” said Alano.

P2.2B to build?

 

Trillanes claimed the building costs P2.7 billion.

 

“Pag move in pa lang dito ginastusan na nila ng P300 million. Kaya I keep on insisting that this building costs the governmentt P2.7 billion. Ilalabas na lang namin 'yan,” he said.

 

The estimated cost of the building was P2.5 billion, but Vice President Jejomar Binay, who was Makati mayor when the project was started, said the city government only shelled out P2.2 billion for the construction.

 

GMA News Online compared the Makati building with other prime residential towers in Metro Manila. 
 

In a press statement, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, Binay’s political affairs spokesperson, said the building may not be extraordinary but it was not overpriced.

 

“What is important is that the materials used are the same ones reflected in the bill of materials, bidding was conducted, and that the Commission on Audit audited the entire process and rendered a finding that there was no overpricing. Outside these issues, they are subjective, biased statements,” he said.

 

The Blue Ribbon subcommittee is set to resume its hearing on the building this Thursday.

Hundreds of Makati residents held a rally in front of the building while the ocular inspection was ongoing. They even shouted “Binay! Binay!” when Trillanes went out of the building– VS/JDS/NB, GMA News