BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas welcomed the filing of criminal charges against several individuals over loan transactions at the Iloilo City Government Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (IGEMPC).
“Lady Justice is blindfolded and whatever cases and whoever is guilty will have to fall. We cannot do something about it,” Treñas said in a press briefing.
However, the mayor said he hopes the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) will include in the charge sheet those personnel from its regional office who may have conspired over the loans.
“Despite the financial situation of the cooperative, CDA continued to issue a certificate of good financial standing, which was used to apply for loans from Landbank,” said Treñas.
The case stemmed from the investigation the CDA launched recently against officers and personnel of ICGEMPC over loans.
The agency probe 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, said Treñas.
In September 2023, the mayor declared CDA-6 director Nora P. Patron “persona non grata ‘” for failing to stop her office from issuing a “good standing” certification to IGEMPC despite the controversy.
In the EO, Treñas pointed out that CDA-6 ignored pleas for help from the city government and members of the ICGEMPC./PN
