By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — Accepting the Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) offer for a “loan takeout” will be advantageous for the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa), one of the water district’s directors said.
Baciwa owes the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) P500 million worth of loan.
Its Board of Directors wanted the loan transferred to a bank. In fact, it passed last year a resolution seeking for the transfer.
In a loan takeout, the bank will pay for Baciwa’s loan with LWUA, and the water district will continue paying for the loan with the bank.
The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier said it will help Baciwa make such arrangement with DBP.
“Baciwa pays LWUA a 12.5-percent interest every year,” said director Marichi Ramos.
Several banks have offered Baciwa a takeout deal, among them were DBP, Land Bank of the Philippines and several private banks, Ramos said. They offered an interest of at least five percent, she said.
“The big savings (due to) the low interest can be used for Baciwa’s other priority projects,” Ramos said.
She said the Board will write LWUA administrator Andy Ibarra to ask him for a clearance to allow the deal.
“LWUA has been delaying the issuance of a clearance” because it is “waiting for a go-signal from the Commission on Audit,” she said.
However, Ramos said, she learned from other water districts that LWUA can issue the clearance by itself./PN
