Marinduque government's midnight loan deal with DBP shocking, shonky

Oct. 20, 2015 Marinduque-DBP loan signing. VP/head for Southern Tagalog  Abelardo Monarquia, DBP branch head Joel Jalbuena, Gov. Carmencita Reyes, Vice-Gov. Romulo Bacorro, Jr. Photo: Fimpco Marinduque

It is not very often that government entities enter into shocking, questionable deals, but people cry out in protest when they do. 

In the case of the Provincial Government of Marinduque's Oct. 20 loan contract with DBP, the misdeed was so horrific that it may only be called a deal that grossly and willfully deviated from all that's straight, honest and correct.

First, it's common knowledge that Governor Carmencita Reyes has been suspended for 60 days by the Sandiganbayan as she faces graft and technical malversation charges over misuse of fertilizer funds. This is nationally known as the 2004 fertilizer fund scam, Pres. Aquino's battle cry with a promise to go after the culprits.

The Sandiganbayan suspension order was promulgated on October 8, 2015, broadcast on radio DZMM, carried by mainstream media like GMA-7, Inquirer, Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin, Manila Times, Sun Star, and even picked up by Yahoo! News and numerous online news sites including this blog.

Yet, it appears that in a huff, Gov. Reyes decided to resurrect a loan proposal that has been allowed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to sleep in the floorboards for over a year now as all the provincial officials are fully aware that many are up in arms against it, a P 300-M loan with DBP.

One civil-society group describes it as follows:

"The timing of the past and present proposed loans, being always nearing an election, has always become a suspect. It is one of the reasons why we initiated a people’s initiative in opposing the (previous) proposed loan and that there is a possibility that we will do the same if they insist on pursuing this loan." (Pedrito Nepomuceno, Marinduque Movers)

So the SP appears to have adopted, the whole time, a lackadaisical attitude toward the loan proposed, just allowing the governor to negotiate with government banks, nevertheless, issuing just that - an authority to 'negotiate'. A draft resolution was presented before the provincial board members, but they maintained that their decision was for an authority to negotiate - which did not include the authority to enter into contract with any bank yet. 

In writing they reiterated this, "authority to negotiate" only, it says, also requiring the submission of documents such as feasibility study, provincial road network plan, provincial tourism plan, etc. etc. 

Even as the governor decided to reduce the original loan proposal from P 500-M to P-300-M by October 2014, and even as she, the governor, also requested for the adoption of the two authorizations that would enable her to negotiate and sign a contract with the relevant bank, to this day it is a puzzle. 

All of a sudden the deal was signed last Tuesday (Oct 20), sans certain important requirements to be submitted to the SP before signing of contract, and while related issues were still being discussed just days before the signing, like inclusion of bank-approved projects that were not included in the documents. Not included because over at the SP, it was agreed to not pursue them anymore, yet they were inserted in the bank documents, something beyond the scope of authority given. 

That's just a start, eh?

Another glaring question was the inclusion of ongoing farm-to-market road projects being currently implemented by the national government. Already ongoing road projects. Talk about overlapping projects. By this time we are all too familiar with this 'magical method'.

So where will the unused loan funds go? 

Lord Allan Velasco, posted the following on his Facebook account, one that may provide an answer: 

"Ang masaklap pa po nito ay sa mga tinutukoy nilang mga gagawin na mga daan sa iba't ibang barangay ay meron ng ginagawa sa specific location na yun dahil may naibigay na ang Department of Agriculture, Philippine Coconut Authority at iba pang ahensya. Ang tanong po ay bakit nagkakaroon ng overlap ng mga projects? Pangalawa, ay may surplus po na 105M na hindi ginagamit ng probinsya.. bakit hindi na lang yun ang gamitin kesa umutang pa? Alam na po natin kung ano ang sagot dito."

Under the foregoing situation, the governor and her vice-governor went to town for election-related political meetings. What better way to ensure their support and capture votes than to promise, endlessly promise, the farming out of barangay road projects?

Starkly aware that the signing of the loan contract could be questioned in view of her suspension, the DILG provincial office was apparently pressed to issue a certification, that no suspension order has been served to Gov. Reyes. The provincial DILG gave in.

But now, the governor's office has found another clever use for the DILG issuance, copies of which have circulated online now. As could be deduced from the posts, it is now claimed that the Sandiganbayan's suspension order is fiction with the DILG letter as proof!

The DILG Marinduque certification that no suspension order has been served.

But it's another wonder of wonders why the DILG, formerly headed by Mar Roxas now presidential candidate, is taking its time to serve the order.

One comment: "Ay naku, tuwid nga daan, natatraffic naman! O kaya kalesa ang dumadaan kaya di nakakarating!"

Another one: "Horrorific!"

CALLING DILG SEC. SARMIENTO!

Calling the new DILG Sec. Mel Senen Sarmiento! Could you, Secretary, please forget about political party affiliations first and do your job in this instance in the spirit of "tuwid na daan"?

Meanwhile, the now-controlled, hoodwinked provincial board is set to ratify the P300-M loan contract tomorrow. 

I just suppose many Marinduquenos would be very curious to see first hand, come face-to-face with the Marinduque bokales. To watch how they, the Honorables, would handle it. What things they would say to justify their deed in the light of all the foregoing. 

The provincial board session starts at 10:00 AM, Friday, October 23, 2015

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shonky: A compound word from the two terms 'shocking' and 'wonky' meaning that something is so bad or precarious that it is actually shocking.

Also read:

Two years in a row: COA blasts Marinduque provincial officials; Suspended governor in P300M midnight loan today