The City government still has a pending balance of P14 million for the total payment of the Artica Sports Dome, which was built under the term of former Mayor Benjamin de Guzman.
The P14 million represents the last payment of the P135 million loan which the de Guzman administration acquired from Land Bank of the Philippines.
The principal amount of which is only P145 million, which accumulated a P74 million interest.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in his television program yesterday said the city government is obliged by law to pay the loan because the city government during de Guzman’s term entered into a loan contract with the bank.
De Guzman denies there was any corruption in the transactions. “Walay corruption, kay kung naay corruption, ngano nag-sige man ug bayad sa city?”
Duterte said the city is compelled to pay the bank because the latter has already paid the contractor, Archipelago Builders.
A Task Force Artica was formed when Duterte assumed office in 2004. That task force claimed that Artica was sitting on a fault line and that the posts were not properly aligned. The structural engineering was also questioned.
The task force’s technical committee recommended that the city abandon the project because the building’s location was not safe for public use.
Duterte laughed off de Guzman’s insistence for a public debate. “Why will I answer your fabricated documents in public?” he asked. “We are governed by the Commission on Audit and over the years, COA has not found anything wrong with the people’s money. It’s only you.” |
