BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – This city government will file a complaint for syndicated estafa and other civil cases against individuals over loan transactions at the Iloilo City Government Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative(IGEMPC).
City Legal Office lawyer Joseph Edward Areño confirmed that they are finalizing the complaint and the supporting documents to bolster the cases against the respondents, mostly former cooperative offers.
To be charged are those who “were directly involved in the preparations, releasing, and encashment of checks,” Areño told reporters in an interview.
The case stemmed from the investigation the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). It centered on the cooperative’s governance, financial aspects, and other related issues.
ICGEMPC suffered huge financial losses due to loan transactions that amounted to a whooping P31 million, which resulted in the reduction of the capital share of its members.
In September 2023, Mayor Jerry Treñas declared CDA-6 director Nora P. Patron as “persona non grata” for failing to stop the issuance of “good standing” certification to IGEMPC despite the controversy.
In his Executive Order, Treñas pointed out that CDA-6 ignored pleas for help from the city government and members of the ICGEMPC.
Requests for a consultative meeting to intervene and resolve the issues of the cooperative were also unheeded, Treñas added.
In an interview, Areño said of those to be charged: “The release of funds through their efforts is well-documented. There are checks issued by themselves.”
He said that even those coop officers who are no longer in office will be pursued by filing the civil aspect of the case and will seek a court order to attach their properties as penalties.
Areño said it took them several months to finish the case buildup since they had to get the checks from Landbank of the Philippines.
“We even found out that there are really checks that do not cover any known document. We will file a strong case of syndicated estafa,” he said./PN
