ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry P. Treñas warned that the city government will be filing cases against officers and members of the Iloilo City Government Employers Credit Cooperative who have not paid their loans.
All officers of the cooperative are currently suspended as the controversies surrounding the cooperative’s financial status are being investigated.
With their suspension, an interim board took over so that loan payments will be collected.
“There is an interim board to make sure nga ma-preserve ang coop kag masukot ang dapat sukton,” said Treñas.
The city mayor said he was surprised to know that based on the memorandum of agreement signed by the cooperative, Land Bank of the Philippines and the city government, it is the city government that will collect the loan payments.
“It is a tripartite agreement nga nabutang dira nga ang ma-collect gali ang city [government]. I was surprised because it was shown to me by Land Bank last week. Amo na nga involve na subong ang City Legal Office because we will file cases against those who have not paid,” said Treñas.
Aside from filing of cases, the city mayor stressed the city government will take whatever is necessary so that collections will be made.
“We have to safeguard ang mga documents kay tan-awon ta kon ano nabutang didto sa mga promissory notes because it is an agreement between the parties and ara na da kon pila ang penalties, ang charges kon indi pa ka bayad. So we will go by the book,” he added.
So far, Treñas noted there were already some who have paid more than a million pesos for their loans.
“We are serious about this, kwarta ni sang aton mga empleyado and I was told that there are non-employees who have also invested money. We will have to make sure we will do what we can to collect everything,” the city mayor emphasized.
For his part, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon said his committee of the whole will submit on next week’s Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) session committee report relative to their investigation regarding the controversy.
The SP set the probe on July 17 which was the offshoot of the SP resolution for the conduct of an investigation in aid of legislation.
“The recent turn of events in discovery of financial records which employees, officers and members of the board of the credit cooperative loaned substantial amount from the cooperative by grave abuse of discretion and authority has resulted to a massive uproar of the members and dragged the name of the credit cooperative into the limelight,” read part of the resolution.
It can be noted that some of the members complained they could not easily take out a loan and their applications just piled up while the loan of the board of directors (BOD) reached millions of pesos.
According to the SP, such exercise of grave abuse of discretion and authority by the employees, officers, and members of the credit cooperative has prejudiced the members.
“For the members must be enlightened on the controversies dragging the credit cooperative into the limelight, it is just right and proper that in the name of equity and fairness the employees, officers, and members of the board of the Iloilo City Government Employees Credit Cooperative be also given an opportunity equal opportunity on the issue for purposes of transparency,” the resolution further read./PN
