Suspected Binay dummy firms owned by Mercado, Limlingan tells CA

Two “dummy corporations” that allegedly cornered most of the service contracts in the Makati City government when Vice President Jejomar C. Binay was still city mayor were originally owned by former vice mayor Ernesto Mercado. This was disclosed in a motion filed last week with the Court of Appeals (CA) by Binay’s alleged trusted aide Gerardo Limlingan Jr., who pleaded for the lifting of the freeze order issued against his bank and financial accounts and those of his business associates and relatives. Limlingan told the CA that Mercado was the original owner of OMNI Security and Investigation and General Services (OMNI) and Meriras Realty & Development Corporation (MERIRAS). Mercado had testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee and the Office of the Ombudsman that OMNI and MERIRAS were the dummy firms of Vice President Binay when he was still mayor of Makati City. The former vice mayor’s testimony became the [...]