Overpricing claim just ‘hula-hula’ – Binay’s camp

Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ Binay (Facebook photo)

MANILA – Vice President Jejomar Binay’s camp on Saturday dismissed claims that the Makati Science High School (MSHS) building was allegedly overpriced.

Binay’s spokesman Joey Salgado made a statement saying that the MSHS building passed an auditing process conducted by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Salgado also added that the said building underwent a legal public bidding.

He also criticized the senators for concluding that the building was indeed overpriced with only the statement of Renato Bondal, one of the accusers of Binay, which he described as mere “say so.”

“But on the mere say so of Renato Bondal and after a cursory inspection, the Senators have already made conclusions of overpricing. This is no surprise to us since the senators have pre-judged the issue from the start,” Salgado said.

“His claim of overpricing in both Building 2 and Makati Science High School falls into the same category. It’s guesswork or “hula-hula” that won’t pass scrutiny in a court of law,” he added.

Bondal disclosed in a senate hearing that the 10-storey building was overpriced by as much as P862 million or 283 percent.

The building, which measures 18,373 square meters costs about P72,500 per square meter given the P1.33 billion price tag, according to Bondal.

Meanwhile, the building was already inspected by subcommittee chairperson Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Saturday.