By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is willing to talk with Negros Cooperative Bank officials following the Provincial Board recently approving a resolution ejecting the financial firm from an agreement pertaining to the Capitol Park and Lagoon.
The governor said the provincial government will formally send a letter to the bank.
“I’m sure they will make an appeal,” he said. “I am willing to listen to them.”
Board Member Andrew Montelibano, who authored the said resolution, revealed the bank had not paid its utility bills for the past 12 years,
He said bank is using the property for free but there was a breach of contract and “conflict of interest.”
“What is clear is that they violated certain terms of the contract at the expense of the province,” Lacson added. “We cannot just neglect the violations but we will talk to them and hear it directly from them.”
Montelibano pointed to Nestor Bayona, who served as consultant for cooperative development during the administration of former Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr., as the one who signed the contract.
“In 2017, they signed another contract to extend the use of the property for 40 years,” he added. “They have been using the property for free, and yet they have not been paying the electric and water bills since 2007.”
Meanwhile, Lacson said he would encourage bank management to “look for another place.”/DGB, WDJ