By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

After the Negros Occidental Provincial Board previously approved a resolution ejecting the Negros Cooperative Bank from an agreement pertaining to the Capitol Park and Lagoon, the financial insitutiton announced they would be “willing to transfer” but need time.
According to bank manager Phoebe Tongson, in response to Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson’s suggestion for bank management to “look for another place,” the bank’s board would need to look for a relocation site, along with time to create a new vault that is in compliance with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas requirements.
Board Member Andrew Montelibano, who authored the resolution, said the bank “violated its deed of usufruct with the provincial government.” A usufruct agreement permits an outside party to use a piece of property for a period of time.
The provincial official claimed, under the contract, use of the land is free but the bank must pay for utilities. He added, the Provincial Legal Office looked into the matter and, through the Provincial Engineer’s Office, found the bank’s electrical connection was attached to the Provincial Capitol building.
“In 2017, they signed another contract to extend the use of the property for 40 years,” the provincial official added. “They have been using the property for free and, yet, they have not been paying the electric and water bills since 2007.”
However, Tongson claimed, nobody from the provincial government came to them to inform the bank they had to pay the electricity bill.
In an recent interview, Negros Cooperative Bank President Nestor Bayona, who previously served as consultant for cooperative development during the administration of former Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr., requested the current provincial government to treat the financial institution with “kinder consideration.”
Montelibano earlier pointed to Bayona as the one who initially signed the contract./WDJ