Binay linked to 4 more properties

Vice President Jejomar Binay (Facebook photo)

MANILA – Four more properties in Aurora province are being linked to Vice President Jejomar Binay.

In a real property declaration obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Binay was listed as administrator of four lots totaling more than two hectares.

According to a local official, the said properties allegedly owned by the Binays are well-known to residents in the town of Dingalan, where more than 300 people died during the landslides in Novemebr and December 2004.

The lots are located along the main road of Dingalan, a town that is 176 kilometers away from Metro Manila.It is accessible through two towns, the Nakar town in Quezon province and the Gabaldon town in Nueva Ejica province.

Meanwhile, Joey Salgado, Binay’s spokesman, on Sunday denied the allegations that Binay owned the said lots.

“The Vice President did not execute the purported tax declaration as can be seen by the absence of his signature in any of the documents shown by the Inquirer. Neither is there any proof of authenticity,” Salgado said.

Salgado instead said that Mercado was the one who owns properties in Aurora.

“This is no different from Mercado’s claim that the Vice President owned a condo unit at The Peak Tower in Makati when the real owner is Mercado himself. The condo is under the name of a person who turned out to be Mercado’s cousin and a known dummy in several businesses,” Salgado said.

The Aurora officials, while confirming that Mercado indeed owned lots in the area, said that his lots were different from the ones listed under Binay.