DBP offers financing for purchase of new city hall parking property
The Development Bank of the Philippines has offered to finance the purchase of a lot adjacent to the new Iloilo city hall in front of Plaza Libertad to be used for parking purposes.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said DBP officials have met with him to submit the bank’s offer of P35-million loan facility for the purchase of some 3,000-square meter lot owned by British firm Kerr and Co., at seven percent interest rate per annum.
The British firm has since abandoned the property and offered to sell to the city government at P11,000 per square meter.
Mabilog said the City Council has already approved his request for a new design of the city hall project, particularly the third floor earlier earmarked as parking space for city government vehicles.
He said the third floor will be used for offices of the city and reserved as office space of new city officials should the city be redistricted into two congressional districts.
Mabilog said he wants an open space beside the new city hall that doubles as a parking space for city government vehicles and those of visitors.
Last month, the mayor said the city may have a new city hall early next year if work on the seven-storey government structure will proceed as scheduled.
Contractor F.F. Cruz & Co. Inc. has reported then that the construction is “ahead of schedule.”
“If things go as planned and there are no hitches, we can have the new city hall by February 2011,” Mabilog said earlier.
BUSINESS-FRIENDLY
Meanwhile, Mabilog is also keen on making the city business-friendly and urges the business community to report incidents of extortion and “tong-pats” immediately.
Businessmen should report these incidents of extortion and giving money or fat commission to hasten paperworks when transacting business at the City Hall, he said.
He also said there should be no “under the table” money when applying for various business requirements.
Most players coming from the small and medium enterprises are finding it hard to start their business due to these cases, the mayor said.
Mabilog said the streamlining of business application process has stopped red tape, but some people are still extorting money from the businessmen so as to expedite the release of important documents.
The mayor said the practice degrades the government and its decent employees.
He also said the business community should not tolerate these anomalous practices among their ranks.
Mabilog said he is also planning to set up a City Hall hotline exclusively for reports on extortion incidents in the business community. PNA
