MANILA – Former vice president Jejomar Binay and several others were facing graft charges over the allegedly anomalous sale of a Boy Scouts of the Philippines property in Makati City.
The Office of the Ombudsman recommended that Binay be charged with violation of sections 3(e) and 3(g) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The Ombudsman also sought the administrative charge for gross neglect of duty – punishable by dismissal from public office – against Binay, BSP president and former Makati City mayor.
Also accused were Rep. Amado Espino (Pangasinan, 5th District), former Senate secretary Lutgardo Barbo, former Marikina City mayor Del de Guzman, other BSP executives, Alphaland Makati Place, Inc. president Mario Oreta, and several Bureau of Internal Revenue officials.
The allegations stemmed from the P600-million sale of the BSP-owned property on Malugay Street, Makati City to Alphaland Makati Place, Inc. (AMPI) on June 2011.
The Ombudsman found the property “undervalued.” The Omnibus Loan and Security Agreement between the BSP and the AMPI stated that the property was mortgaged for P1.75 billion.
Previous improvements to the property were valued at P 8.426 billion, for a total appraisal value of P10.126 billion, the Ombudsman found in a fact-finding investigation.
BIR officials also face charges for certifying that the sale was exempt from the payment of the capital gains tax, resulting in a P63,000,000 tax collection loss.
Binay faces separate graft charges in connection with to the construction of the Makati City Hall Parking Building and the Makati Science High School./PN
