Back to square one for Capitol's P350 M loan?
Top executives of three government depository banks were called yesterday and met with members of the 9th Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP).
Convening as Committee of the Whole, chairman is Third District Board Member Arthur Defensor Jr. with the committee hearing directly addressing Resolutions passed relative to the planned P350 million loan of the Iloilo Provincial Government.
Hours after Board Member Defensor Jr. and committee members present were briefed of the loan terms and conditions, a consensus was reached to have the bank officials resubmit proposals. Yet it did not stop there. Defensor Jr. stressed the need to make everything "clear and simple," if only to have an easier understanding of the said loan.
To recall, Resolution No. 2007-053 was passed that introduced amendments to yet another Resolution authorizing Governor Niel Tupas Sr. to negotiate and enter into a contract with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP). The amendment carried a further authority to include the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB).
Then came Resolution No. 2007-057 that authorized the governor this time to enter into contract of loan with PVB and further still, to "take out" the Capitol's outstanding loans of P215.8 million and transfer such there.
Finally, Resolution No. 2007-058 that confirmed, approved and ratified all terms and conditions of the loan agreement with PVB in the amount of P350 million. The amount was to finance the proposed Convention Center and Office Building Project of the Iloilo Provincial Government.
Questions were also raised on specific conditions stipulated in the PVB loan where categorically mentioned was that regardless of the SP composition with future queries on the loans, the earlier Tupas-PVB deal as inked is to be binding. As such, no changes shall be entertained or considered.
"The obligation of the BORROWER (referring to the Iloilo Provincial Government) with the LENDER (referring to the PVB) shall be binding and the BORROWER'S obligation shall not be subject to recall by the Sanggunian concerned for the entire term of the obligation regardless of any change in the compositioni of the Sanggunian thereafter if any," the specific loan condition in question stated.
Defensor Jr. in a "Memo of Facts" distributed to the SP body established a timeline of "loan events" leading to yesterday's committee hearing.
Interestingly enough, the planned P350 million loan began with a Resolution that named only the DBP and the LBP. The amount also included restoration and rehabilitation of the old Capitol building to its original (pre-war) architectural design.
A month later, another request this time for the inclusion of PVB.
Latest developments failed to have the same planned construction works which likewise caused the SP body to press for more explanation.