MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son, former Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “JunJun” Binay Jr., of graft and falsification of public documents charges related to the construction of the P1.3-billion Makati Science High School (MSHS).

In an 86-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos, the Sandiganbayan Special Fifth Division granted the accused’s demurrer to evidence and dismissed the case against them “for insufficiency of evidence.” A demurrer to evidence is a pleading by the accused to dismiss a case due to lack of evidence. Once granted in a criminal case, it results in an acquittal.

The case was promulgated on December 13, 2024, but the decision was made public only on January 9, 2025.

The Binays, along with 16 other co-accused, faced three counts of falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code and seven counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The charges, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman then led by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, stemmed from alleged irregularities in the architectural and engineering services for the four-story dormitory awarded to Infiniti Architectural Works for P17,446,760, as well as alleged anomalies in the construction services for the six phases of the 10-story MSHS building awarded to Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation for P1,336,282,212.

The Sandiganbayan, in its decision, stated that the prosecution’s evidence failed to prove all charges and relied heavily on the testimonies of witnesses, including former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, engineer Mario Hechanova, former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, and lawyer Renato Bondal.

The court, in its decision, stated that “it was revealed that all of them lacked personal knowledge of the facts constituting the charges against the accused and had only been speculating on their own about what transpired in the procurement of the MSHS building project.”

The Sandiganbayan ruled that “there is absolutely no evidence that any of the accused had any dishonest design or corrupt intent as the motive for such, i.e. the receipt of monetary benefit or gain by any accused was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.”

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