Despite the issues surrounding Makati Homeville, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Friday that the city’s relocation site in Calauan, Laguna is a model in the housing sector.
However, residents of the relocation site have complained about the lack of electricity and water in their new homes.
Mercado, on the other hand, admitted that he and two of his children are part owners of Twinleaf, stressed he was not connected to the firm until years after the project was finished in 2008.
“Ako ay nagkaroon ng partisipasyon sa Twinleaf noong 2013 hanggang ngayon. ‘Di ko tinatanggi na ako ang presidente niyan,” he said.
At the time the recolation was done, Mercado’s participation was only as the city’s vice mayor–not as a stakeholder in Twinleaf.
Part of his job then was to make sure the permits for the project are complete. This did not include electric and water lines. He said that was already the job of the engineering department of Makati.
“Marami kami meeting ng Engineering, ‘di ko na alam ano nangyari dahil na-cut na relasyon ko sa kanila. ‘Di ko alam bakit ‘di na-process or nabayaran,” he explained.
Phase 1
The contractor handled fixing the streets, drainage, and the construction of a barangay hall, a school, a health center, and a covered court. All of these were done at a price of P300 million.
Twinleaf was also awarded the P124.5-million contract for Phase Two of the project, which should have included organizing water lines, deep well, and tanks as well as the electrical works. But the Makati City government canceled the second phase.
