Quo vadis, Jojo?

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

Buddies: Jojo and P-Noy

For more than four years since his election to the vice presidency, Jejomar “Jojo” Binay was on top of the world enjoying an unprecedented popularity no other politician before him had enjoyed. Indeed, he was so popular that he was convinced that the Liberal Party (LP) of his good friend, President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III, doesn’t have anybody who could beat him in the presidential derby in 2016.

Riding on the crest of popularity, Binay exudes optimism in clinching the presidential election. Only about a month ago, he was the “unbeatable” front-runner in the race. The Liberals were so frustrated with Mar Roxas’s waning presidential standing that supporting Binay as the common candidate of the LP and Binay’s yet-to-be-named-political-party — still in its embryonic stage — is now a viable option. With Binay running under that coalition would make him so formidable that nobody in the current crop of wannabes could defeat him. Indeed, if the presidential election were held today, he’d trounce them all.

Lord of Makati

But the election is still a year and a half away. Although nobody has come out openly against Binay, the “demolition job” has begun. An article written by Miriam Grace A. Go in March 2001, titled “The Lord Makati,” is being republished in the print media and has become one of the hottest topics in the social media.

According to the article, Makati’s former mayor Jojo Binay had “accumulated at least P80 million worth of real estate properties in Makati and Batangas, which he kept undeclared.” This excludes “P12 million in declared investments, as well as other businesses that he and his friends reportedly control through dummy corporations.”

The article further said, “After serving as mayor for 12 years, Binay now owns a 66-hectare farm in Rosario, Batangas – estimated to be almost double the size of the Ayala commercial center in Makati – according to our investigation. Based on conservative estimates of the land value alone, the property – excluding improvements – is worth about P23 million.

Rockwell Center, Makati

“In addition, Binay and his wife, Elenita, current Makati mayor [in 2001], also own at least two Hidalgo condominium units, located inside the posh Rockwell Center in Makati. A 208-square meter unit in Rockwell, like the ones occupied by each of the two Binay daughters, costs around P28 million.”

Go and her team of investigative reporters had “interviewed at least 15 contractors, former employees and farm hands, sources privy to transactions, and local residents who saw Binay inspect the properties, and who all confirmed his ownership of these properties. Without these testimonies, it would be difficult to trace ownership to him because documents, if they are available at all, do not link him or his family members to the properties.”

The question is: How did Binay hide his ownership of these properties? According to the realtors who were questioned by investigative reporters, Binay’s modus operandi works this way: “He forms a company, which buys or builds the house for him. He then lists down unknown names from different addresses as incorporators of the company. After buying the property, registration papers do not bear his name. Instead, the original owner is asked to either issue a mortgage in Binay’s favor or sign a paper bestowing him with a power of attorney over the property. Only Binay has copies of the pertinent documents, such as deeds of sale and land titles.”

Plunder

Former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado testifies before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee

But finally the truth is catching up to Binay. Recently, former Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, saying that Binay got 13% in kickbacks from all city projects. He said that he acted as Binay’s “bagman” and personally delivered money to Binay’s house in duffel bags containing anywhere from P1.5 million to P10 million.

While all these alleged shenanigans were being exposed, Binay, his son Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, and 23 others were charged with plunder in relation to the alleged overpricing in the construction of an 11-story parking building that Makati City allegedly built for a whopping P1.56 billion! The complaint claimed that in 2007 then-Mayor Jojo Binay had “proposed and approved” a city ordinance for the construction of the parking building with an initial budget of P400 million; thus, making it “the most expensive parking building in the country, if the entire world.”

The question is: If the Binays were indicted for plunder, would the graft court,Sandiganbayan, issue arrest warrants against them? If so, it could be the end of Binay’s presidential run. Unless he would continue to run from behind bars just like when Sen. Sonny Trillanes ran for senator in 2007 from his detention cell. And if he won the race, he would be released to assume the presidency, which would give him immunity from prosecution, including plunder.

Public opinion

Binay dynasty

While the Ombudsman is investigating the plunder charges against the Binays, the court of public opinion is in “full session.” With emotions running high in light of the pork barrel scam, the people are looking at l’affaire Binay with keen interest, after all Jojo Binay could be their next president. And the specter of the “Lord of Makati” becoming the country’s “Grand Lord” could just be too much for those who are convinced that Jejomar “Jojo” Binay is corrupt to the bones, which begs the question: Would the court of public opinion deny him the presidency?

With the plunder case and the “demolition job” that’s going on against the Binays, it makes one wonder if Jojo could overcome the biggest obstacle in his quest for power and glory. He believed so not too long ago. But does he now?

Quo vadis, Jojo?

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)