Binay aides Baloloy and Limlingan have fled PHL, says Trillanes

Two people who have been closely associated with Vice President Jejomar Binay and who are being sought by the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee have fled the country, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Sunday.

"That's the information we received and we are validating it. Definitely, tinatago sila ni VP Binay," Trillanes told GMA News Online in a text message regarding Binay's longtime financial officer, Gerry Limlingan, and his personal secretary, Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy.

Trillanes, a staunch critic of the vice president, thinks Binay is "hiding" both men "because they won't be able to lie under intense questioning from various investigators."

"They know where most of VP Binay's money are hidden," he added.

Both Limlingan and Baloloy are listed as beneficiaries of a bank account of a construction company that secured at least P180 million worth of projects with the city government of Makati.

This was disclosed in the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s petition for a freeze order on certain accounts associated with Binay. The court has since granted the freeze order on 242 accounts.

The Blue Ribbon subcommittee, which is investigating the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II construction and other corruption accusations against the Vice President, recommended that Limlingan and Baloloy be charged with plunder.

"They needed to close some accounts or transfer some money first before they went totally underground. All leads are being checked out just to be sure," Trillanes said.

Senator Nancy Binay, the vice president's daughter, said in May that Limlingan and Baloloy will explain "at the right time" amid pressure from the Senate subcommittee for failing to honor the subpoenas sent to them to attend the hearings.

The two, however, have not been located by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) since the Senate subcommittee ordered their arrest for contempt. — Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/BM, GMA News