SOME 2,000 placard-bearing residents of Sual marched around the town’s municipal hall to voice out their opposition to the local government’s reported P500-million loan availed by the local government from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Pangasinan Lending Center which they claim to be unnecessary.

The protest rally was held amid the civil case filed at the Regional Trial Court in Lingayen town calling for the declaration of nullity of Ordinance No. 02-2-21 on loan agreement with preliminary injunction and issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by one Michael Abata against the Sual government represented by Mayor Liseldo Calugay, municipal council, town treasurer, accountant, budget officer and the LBP.

While Calugay did not give his reaction to the protest rally, he pointed out in a media interview that the loan was approved in January 2021 yet but the release was delayed by the pandemic.

The bank is reportedly set to release partial amount of P100-million, sources said. The four percent annual interest of the P500-million is equivalent to P20-million and loan is payable in 15 years.

Although Sual is among the richest municipalities in the Philippines because of a coal-fired power plant in the town, he said that the share of the town from the taxes paid by the company is used for specific purposes only.

Leeward Caburao, who led the protesting residents, said that Sual is one of the country’s richest municipalities. “But why the need to avail a loan? What for?,” he asked as he cited  12,000 residents that signed the protest document . The town has a voting population of 29,000.

Councilor JC Arcinue , one of four councilors who did not sign the council resolution for the loan, said his father and grandfather, former Mayors John and Roberto Arcinue respectively, did not seek any loan but instead paid the loan availed of by a former mayor.

He said the Calugay administration approved the loans for projects that did not comply with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and terms of the Seal of Good Local Governance, and therefore, “not considered priority  with no return on investment”.

Janet Torreno from  Barangay Sioasiao West, questioned where the municipal government spent the P595-million budget in 2019 since there were no known projects implemented in 2020.

In the case filed for TRO, it said that there are 11 Sangguniang Bayan members but only six members concurred, hence, there was no majority vote.

“The loan agreement is null and void,” it said. (Eva Visperas)