(CNN Philippines) — The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing on the alleged anomalies involving Vice President Jejomar Binay resumed Thursday (May 28) with former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado revealing more properties allegedly owned by the Binays.
Mercado presented a slideshow of bank statements abroad allegedly under Binay’s name as he urged the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to further look into the vice president’s accounts in other countries.
The accounts Mercado presented were allegedly not reflected in Binay’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities Net Worth (SALN) for the years 1994 and 1996.
“Panawagan sa AMLC: Magkaroon ng mas masusing imbestigasyon dahil wala ‘yung pera sa SALN,” he said.
[Translation: My appeal to AMLC: Make a thorough investigation because the money were not on the SALN.]
According to Mercado, two persons — Gerardo “Gerry” Limlingan and Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy — serve as the key to all the bank accounts of Binays. Limlingan was tagged by Mercado during the previous hearings as Binay’s alleged bagman while Baloloy is the vice president’s personal assistant.
Mercado’s presentation showed accounts from Citibank Hong Kong with Binay and Baloloy as co-signatories, while Limlingan was Binay’s co-signatory in a separate account at ING Baring Bank’s Manila Branch.
Mercado also presented a manager’s check request apparently made by Limlingan to the Philippine National Bank (PNB) where he also put the vice president’s home address in Makati City.
Both Limlingan and Baloloy have standing warrants of arrest from the Senate for their continued defiance of the Blue Ribbon subcommittee’s subpoena.
Except for Mercado’s new revelations, the longest hearing in the senate involving a high government official, were just recaps of previous probes.
The former Makati vice mayor said he already lost almost P2million since the hearing started in August 2014 but is not asking for anything from the government — except that the government’s Witness Protection Program be improved as many want to speak on the issue but are scared for their lives.
Futile report
Binay’s camp, meanwhile, said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s partial report into the Makati parking building mess is “futile.”
Atty. JV Bautista, Binay’s counsel, said the report’s recommendation to file plunder charges against the vice president and Makati Mayor Junjun Binay is useless since the Binays already face a plunder complaint before the Ombudsman for the same allegations.
“The mandate of the senate under the Constitution is to conduct inquiry in aid of legislation. Until now, I can’t understand the kind of legislation the senate will come up with from this endless investigation. This is a headless chicken running around the senate, this subcommittee. It doesn’t know where to go,” he said.
