BY MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – The P525-million fund for several projects approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) last week is not an additional loan of the city government to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), according to Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson.
Sayson, the chairman of the SP committee on appropriation and finance, clarified that the passage of the resolution for the said fund was based on the earlier request of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to the SP to cancel the P525 million allocated for the improvement/ rehabilitation of public markets.
Sayson added that the city mayor also requested the SP to grant him an authorization to reapply for P525-million grant under new terms and conditions and for other purposes.
“Bale gin-realign ang isa ka item sang loan. Gin-realign to other purpose. The loan will remain the same,” he emphasized.
The P525-million fund, originally intended for constructing a new Burgos public market, was part of the P4.171-billion loan of the city government from the DBP.
The city has loaned to the bank to finance the said public market and 16 other developmental projects of the city. But due to the opposition of the majority of the market vendors in the area, the city government instead decided to reallocate the fund to other projects.
These projects include the following: completion of the legislative building (P250 million), old city hall (P190 million), city health complex (P60 million), animal shelter construction in Barangay Granada (P10 million), and Tree Park in Barangay Alangilan (P15 million)./PN
