Gamboa: Approval was ‘railroaded’
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) recently approved three requirements regarding the P1.7 billion loan the city government plans to borrow from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
City Councilor Caesar Distrito, who chairs the SP Committee on Appropriations and Finance, said, after a committee conference, there were no objections to the loan.
Following a vote with 11 city councilors voting in the affirmative, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia was given the authority to sign the hold deposit agreement and loan term agreement, along approving the borrowing ordinance prescribed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Meanwhile, City Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr. voted against the measure, saying the loan requirement approval was “railroaded.” He explained, hearings were held in the morning and the proposal was approved that afternoon; adding, after inquiring about the SP agenda, the city official was only provided with the information around 3:00 p.m. that same afternoon.
He said the proposal should have been given at least a week in order for more studies to be conducted.
In addition, with the loan intended to finance the construction of the planned Bacolod MassKara Coliseum, developments for the Progreso Village relocation site and Bacolod City College, and construction and rehabilitation on city roads and bridges, Gamboa said there were already funds available in the city’s general fund.
The said contract will be ratified next week, along the approval of the appropriation ordinance./DGB, WDJ