TABUK CITY –The provincial government of Kalinga and the Landbank of the Philippines were ordered to cease and desist from implementing a P999 million loan agreement following a complaint filed by a former government official.
In a Status Quo Order dated December 13, the Regional Trial Court ordered Landbank not to release any amount arising from the almost P1-billion-peso loan the provincial government secured earlier this July.
The order stemmed from a case filed by former Vice Governor James Edduba on December 6 for the annulment of the loan agreement which also sought for aTRO and a writ of preliminary injunction to stop the loan process while the court hears the case.
The court also ordered the parties to maintain status quo or the condition prevailing prior to the filing of the case. The order will remain until the court acts on the prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction which is set to be heard on January 11 next year.
In his complaint, Edduba requested for urgency to hear the complaint after the bidding process for the different projects under the loan agreement was held on December 2.
In a July forum, Landbank said the loan, which will be given in cash, is under the Restoration and Invigoration for a Self-Sufficient Economy towards Upgrowth for LGUs (RISE UP LGUs) Lending Program. Launched in July 2020, the RISE UP LGUs is meant to support local government units in implementing their economic stimulus plans aimed at reviving the COVID-19-stricken local economy.
Government documents reveal that Governor Ferdinand Tubban was authorized to negotiate the loan with Landbank on May 11, 2021. To secure the loan, the provincial government agreed to use 20 percent of its annual Internal Revenue Allotment – averaging P260 million – to pay for the loan for up to 15 years.
Edduba, who filed the case as a “tax payer,” said the assignment of the IRA is ultra-vires or beyond the powers of the local officials since it will deprive persons who will succeed them of the use of that part of the IRA.
Additionally, he said the 20 percent IRA to be used as loan payment is traditionally allocated for sectoral services such as for agriculture, health, social welfare and development, salary for casual and project employees, and funding for barangay projects, among others.
“This means there will be budget cuts to serve these sectors until such time that the loans are paid,” the former official said.
Edduba claimed bulk of the loan is devoted to projects outside the purpose of RISE UP LGUs such as the P539 million set to partially finance the improvement of three provincial roads.
For instance, Bulanao-Laya-Balong Provincial Road streetscaping project worth P300 million is simply for beautification of an already concretized and developed road, said the former vice-governor.
Instead, such amount could have been earmarked for concreting of farm-to-market roads in undeveloped areas in upland towns of Kalinga which are classified as provincial roads, Edduba added.
He touted that infrastructure projects of that magnitude can be done without entering into loans as they have previously done during their incumbency with former Governor Jocel Baac.
Edduba on Thursday denied that the complaint is politically motivated, claiming the loan agreement is also being opposed by various groups in the province.
Edduba lost to Tubban by 10 votes in the 2019 elections and will challenge the incumbent for the same position this May 2022 polls.** Karlston Lapniten
