Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano Speaks on Feud with Sen. Nancy Binay over New Senate Building’s Construction
ALAN PETER CAYETANO – The Senator expressed that the cost of the construction of the new Senate Building may balloon from Php 23 billion.
Since Senate President Chiz Escudero assumed his new post following the resignation of Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri as Senate President, one of the issues that he wants to look deeply on is the construction of the new Senate Building — especially the cost.
Escudero was surprised by the cost of the construction of the new Senate building. It tripled from Php 8 billion to Php 23 billion. The new Senate President found it unexplainable.
The Senate President found that there is a need to review the new Senate building. However, amid the discussions of the matter, two (2) senators got into a feud.
Sen. Nancy Binay walked out during a Senate hearing after a heated exchange with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. The lady Senator stressed that there is no such thing as Php 23 billion in the documentation of the new Senate building’s cost.
Binay believes that Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain does not have to apologize to Cayetano who asserted the Php 23 billion. In the case of the Senator, he took it as Php 23 billion if the land cost will be added.
The conversation heated when Cayetano stressed to Binay that her name is Lourdes not Marites after she raised the accusation that a senator is backstabbing her. Before walking out, she stressed that she is not “Marites”.
Recently, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano spoke on the issue as well as the new cost of the new Senate building. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Senator expressed that the cost may balloon further to over Php 28 billion.
According to Cayetano, both he and Binay are right in their claims but he realized that the cost was based on previous prices so it may not matter now as there might be a change in the total cost.
Based on the report, DPWH’s Buildings and Special Projects Management Cluster-UPMO project director Engineer Soledad Florencio said that the original cost was based on the 2021 prices. She admitted that the costs are not updated and it can be updated.
According to DPWH former Undersecretary for the Convergence Project, Antonio Molano, the total cost of the new Senate building may balloon to Php 27 billion with the adjustments on the cost of land and the inflation.