Mayor hits anew VM for City Hall's P2B loan crap

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

According to the Department of Finance and Monetary Board, a local government unit (LGU) like Dagupan City has a Maximum Debt Service Capacity of 20% from the Annual Regular Income (ARI) of an LGU in one year.

ARI is composed of Averaged Locally Service Income, Other Shares from the national tax collected, and the Internal Revenue Allotment.

 

RAPS - Dagupan City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez and Vice Mayor Brian Lim.

Despite the authority of the legislative body in Dagupan City to authorize its mayor to borrow from the bank the P570 million loan to finance the government building cum city hall, ang Dagupan City ay may kakayahang umutang ng kahit P2 billion na kaya niyang bayaran ng P200 million yearly na amortization kung ibase natin sa P1 billion na annual appropriation budget (AAB) niya sa year 2019.

According to the Department of Finance and Monetary Board, a local government unit (LGU) like Dagupan City has a Maximum Debt Service Capacity of 20% from the Annual Regular Income (ARI) of an LGU in one year.

Next year ang siyudad ay may approved na AAB na P948 million.

Sabi sa akin ni mayor ay nabayaran na ng siyudad ang mga utang dati nina Mayors Al Fernandez and Benjie S. Lim.

Wala ng utang ang City.

Sinabi rin ni Mayor Belen sa akin na malaki na ang P570 para sa government building because national government officials like Congressman Toff de Venecia and other national offices  would be helping pay the tab for the construction of the world class four- story city hall.

Earlier Vice Mayor Brian Lim said on a radio interview that the people of the City would be sorry because the edifice would cost up to P2 billion.

They are sorry as Lim painted because they would be paying as taxpayers the amortization in the bank.

“Iyong P579 million ang tingin ko nga diyan baka hinde pa natin maubos iyan. Siyempre pag sila Vice Mayor Brian Lim dahil palaging overprice ang nasa isip nila gusto nila P2 billion. Kahit bigyan niya ako ng P2 billion hinde ko gagamitin iyan. At hinde ko tatangapin dahil sa akin wala tayong overprice,”  Mayor Fernandez told me on a TV interview on the relocation of the 90 years rickety city hall the LGU will transfer to the Philippine Economic Zone Area’s sanctioned Lucao-Pantal Growth Area.

Here again Mayor Fernandez accusing VM Lim and his father then Mayor Benjie Lim in dragging the city to a contract with a buyer that saw the city and the government on a disadvantage and losing position.

 She said that the real price of the former Five-Star McAdore Palace Hotel in early 2000 when then Mayor Lim bought the property from the government owned Asset Privatization Trust was P200 million. It was fire sale sold to the City for P50 million because of the intercession of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose mother was a Pangasinense. President Arroyo acquiesced to the request of then Mayor Al Fernandez and Albert Balingit – a family friend to sell in a bargain price the edifice .

Then Mayor Lim later wanted to sell the Palace for P68 million with the local government  still required to pay the 6 percent Capital Gain Tax and the 1.5 percent Documentary Tax at the Bureau of Internal Revenue for the sale.

“Compute ko iyan sabi ko mayor hinde pa (ba) tayo nalugi diyan? Dahil iyong lupa na binigay sa atin ng mura kailangan ibalik natin at gawin nating city hall,” Fernandez, who was the vice mayor then told Lim.

She added to Lim that if he was persistent to sell it he should trade the 11,000 square meters hotel at P400 million in the prevailing market value of the real properties located at the heart of this city.

But Lim and those councilors that  included Lim’s son Brian succeeded in selling to the AMB ALC Holding  which won the bidding for P119 million or approximately P18,500 per sqm in January 28, 2013.

Critics slam that the sale as anomalous and disadvantageous to the local government because then Mayor Lim sold in 2005 his nearby 715-sqm property to Land Bank for P35, 000 per sqm.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too attotomortz@yahoo.com)