WITH DEFERRED IRA AS COLLATERAL

LINGAYEN — Gov. Amado Espino Jr. entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the LandBank of the Philippines (LBP) for a seven-year term loan using the P79-million uncollected Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the province as collateral.

The loan, Espino said, will boost the provincial government’s priority development programs.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the release of a P12.58-billion fund to settle the unpaid IRA of local government units (LGUs) nationwide, which was not disbursed due to the reenactment of the national budget in 2001 and 2004.

The MOA signing on Thursday at the office of the governor at the Capitol building here was resorted to ostensibly to monetize the deferred IRA (for the years 2001 and 2004) due the province that remains collectible.

This move, which was earlier approved by the provincial board thru Resolution No. 679-2008 authored by Board Member Tyrone Agabas, was offered by the LandBank as the best scheme in monetizing the unreleased IRA.

Under the IRA Monetization Program (IMP), the provincial government will only receive a net amount of P55-million if availed of it as an advance of its IRA share as the discounted value, net of interest and other charges from the government financial institution.

IMP likewise offered a release on an installment basis for a period of seven years from 2009 to 2015, which will entitle the province to receive P11-million every year.

However, the provincial government said such option will not support the immediate delivery of social services.

Espino said 50 percent of the IRA differentials will be used primarily to boost food production.—LM

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