SP judgment on P350 M Capitol loan highlights special session
And the wait is finally over.
Or so it seems as the 9th Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) sets this week the official disclosure of the committee report on the controversial P350 million loan of the Capitol.
With a special session scheduled later this week, The News Today (TNT) got confirmation from Third District Board Member Arthur Defensor Jr., chair of the Committee of the Whole.
"It is set on Friday, November 9," Defensor Jr. said when pressed for specifics. The schedule, TNT further learned, was reached after series of pre-sessions and closed-door meeting with the entire SP body.
As such, two more days and it would be judgment day for the planned loan of the Iloilo Provincial Government following final days of evaluation and validation.
Previous pre-sessions heard a planned Motion that initially called for amendments on the loan authority given to Governor Niel Tupas. However succeeding discussions had majority of the SP body to agree that any and all loan agreement actions will be included in the Committee report.
Defensor Jr. has since clarified that as far as the SP is concerned, the planned construction of the P350 million convention center is not a go as of yet. And the province or the SP at least, is not bound by the bank condition that stipulates a go of the loan terms and conditions seemingly at all costs.
Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) has since wrote Defensor Jr. and the SP with the information of the approved loan conditions as recommended by Capitiol's financial advisor David Buenavacz.
To recall, top executives of three government depository banks were called in a committee hearing that directly addressed Resolutions passed relative to the planned P350 million loan of the Iloilo Provincial Government.
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 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." 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.
Sentiments against the Capitol's planned construction of the P350 million convention center had since got the backing from known allies of the governor, the project's main proponent.