Firms with same incorporators got service deals in Makati

(UPDATED 10:13 p.m.) The city government of Makati may have favored several firms for its service contracts for the past 10 years, an acting official told the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigating the corruption allegations against Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday.

 

Violeta Lazo, the officer-in-charge of the Makati General Services Department (GSD), said the documents reviewed by her agency show that the same firms cornered the contracts for the IT, janitorial, and security services in the city for the last 10 years.

 

Lazo was appointed by acting Mayor Romulo “Kid” Pena Jr. after Mayor Junjun Binay, son of Vice President Binay, was ordered suspended by the Office of the Ombusdman.

 

“Sa loob ng 10 taon, pare-pareho ang nananalong kompanya ng IT services, pag-supply ng janitor at security guards sa city government of Makati,” she said.

 

Lazo said the contracts totaled to P5.6 billion.

 

For the IT services, the top two contractors were Codeworks and Power Link; OMNI Security Investigation Inc. and Corporation Solutions for janitorial services; and OMNI and TriForce Security Services for security services.

 

Lazo noted that among the “red flags” they noticed is that the said firms have similar incorporators, including Hirene Lopez, Aida Alcantara, Bernadette Portollano, and Margueritte Lichnock, among others.

 

Lazo said the findings of the GSD are only initial and that they are still reviewing other contracts to avoid possible “collusion” among contractors.

Services only

During the hearing, Lazo said the amount, especially for IT needs, covered only services.

"Maintenance po ng mga IT equipment ng city hall... Wala pa po ['yung pambili ng equipment doon]. Services, purely services lang po," she said.

She affirmed that the services were for the maintenance of database, the local government's website, encoding, and network administration, for which Makati hired project engineers.

'Binay syndicate'

For his part, lawyer Renato Bondal said that a web of businesses that resembles interconnected NGOs involved the multi-million pork barrel scam cornered contracts in Makati City government for a long time.

Bondal -- who had filed plunder complaints against the latter -- presented the links in companies said to be favored by the local government for certain services, calling it the "Binay syndicate."

"Ito po ang ginawa naming web na nagnenegosyo sa Makati. Kune-kunektado po 'yan. Para 'yang Napoles NGOs na nagsasali-salimuot ang opisyal... Lahat ng mga bida, bawat kumpanya konektado sa isa't isa," he said.

In his presentation, Bondal showed that the incorporators in the companies were linked to VP Binay, his longtime secretary Eduviges Baloloy, and his financial adviser Gerardo Limlingan.

The people involved in the businesses were also among those listed in the freeze order issued by the AMLC on VP Binay's bank accounts.

According to Bondal's presentation, among them are:
* Marguerite Lichnock, Limlingan's wife, chairman of Omni Security Agency and director of Meriras;
* Lily H. Crystal, Limlingan's assistant and administrator of Agrifortuna,
* Mitzi Sedillo, Limlingan's secretary and assistant treasurer of Agrifortuna.

They were listed as incorporators of Codeworks, one of the two top contractors of Makati for IT services, with an estimated contract of P500 million.

Bondal added that Hirene Lopez, wife of University of Makati president Tomas Lopez Jr., was chairman of the other IT company Powerlink, which secured a contract of about P250 million.

Tomas is Agrifortuna's treasurer, and was appointed to the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, which VP Binay chairs. —ALG/NB, GMA News