Ex-VP Binay, son Junjun acquitted of graft, falsification charges

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has acquitted Vice President Jejomar Binay, his son former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., and several others of graft and falsification of public documents in connection with Makati Science High School Building.

Citing insufficiency of evidence, the Sandiganbayan Special Fifth Division acquitted the Binays and their co-accused, including private defendants, of seven counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and three charges of falsification of public documents, based on the resolution promulgated on December 13, 2024, but released only on Thursday, January 9.

The cases filed in 2018 claimed irregularities in the P17.45-million contract for the design of the Makati Science High School building with a dormitory, and the P1.336-billion contract for the construction of the facilities’ phases 1 to 6. (READ: FAST FACTS: Makati Science High School)

Inifiniti Architectural Works won the design contract while Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation was awarded the construction deals.  

Also acquitted were Makati Bids and Awards Committee chairpersons Marjorie de Veyra and Eleno Mendoza Jr.; BAC members Pio Kenneth Dasal, Lorenza Amores, Ulysess Orienza, Gerardo San Gabriel and Mario Badillo; BAC Secretariat members Giovanni Condes, Manolito Uyaco, Norman Flores and Ralph Liberato; Rodel Nayve of the BAC Technical Working Group; city accountants Leonila Querijero, Cecilio Lim III and Raydes Pestaño; city cashier Nelia Barlis; and private defendants Virginia Garcia of Infiniti Architectural Works, and Efren Canlas and Julius Ramos of Hilmarc’s.

The court granted six separate demurrers to evidence filed by the defendants and ordered the dismissal of all criminal cases against them, citing insufficiency of evidence.

Fifth Division chairperson Associate Justice Rafael Lagos penned the resolution, with concurrences from Associate Justice Maryann Corpus-Mañalac and Associate Justice Kevin Narce Vivero.

The ruling

The court said that the evidence of the prosecution failed to prove that there was conspiracy among the accused and the existence of elements comprising graft and falsification cases.

The evidence was culled from the testimonies of the witnesses — former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, engineer Mario Hechanova, former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, and lawyer Renato Bondal.

Hechanova claimed that all the contract bidding for the project had a pre-determined winner. During cross-examination, however, he admitted that his statements were “mere inferences” and not based on his personal knowledge, the court said.

In the case of former Binay political ally Mercado, he alleged that the older Binay got 13% of the cost of all Makati projects as “kickback.” During the cross-examination, Mercado admitted that he was not involved in delivering money to Binay or any other member of his family. 

On the testimony of Trillanes, the court noted that this was the subject of a continuing objection of the defense. The Binay camp had cited his role as a member of the Senate blue ribbon committee that probed the alleged irregularities of the Makati City government under Binay, and that the testimony he provided was secondhand information.

“The adoption of the testimonies of the resource persons cannot be equated to the personal knowledge required under the Rules on Evidence and is violative of the constitutionally protected right of the accused to meet and cross-examine the witnesses against him, in this case, the resource persons themselves,” the anti-graft court said.

Citing the evidence, the court said that the questioned payment released to Hilmarc’s was based on a misapprehension of facts, as the contractor was not involved in the finishing portion of the construction of the MCSHS building and dormitory or Phase 7.

“Therefore, there is absolutely no evidence that any of the accused had any dishonest design or corrupt intent as the motive for such, i.e. the receipt of monetary benefit or gain by any accused was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. The graft charges therefore should be all dismissed,” the court said. 

Following the ruling, the Sandiganbayan ordered the bail bonds canceled and returned to each defendant. The Hold Departure Orders earlier issued against them were also lifted.

The Makati Science High School building got embroiled in controversy amid an exposé on the “overpriced” Makati City Hall Building 2 at the Senate in 2014. The whistleblowers claimed that the construction project for the new Makati Science building was also overpriced but the Binays maintained that the building’s construction was aboveboard.

In January 2024, Binay’s wife, former Makati mayor Elenita Binay, got her fourth acquittal from the Sandiganbayan, for cases stemming from alleged anomalous transactions during her mayoral term.– Rappler.com