Citystate Bank’s electric bills charged to City Hall
METER USED OWNED BY CITY
DAGUPEÑOS have been footing the electric bill of the privately-owned Citystate Savings Bank located on the ground floor of the former MC Adore Hotel since it started its operation in June.
This was confirmed by Dagupan Electric Corporation (Decorp) when it advised Mayor Belen T. Fernandez that the electric consumption of the bank is included in the billing of the city government since the bank does not have its own meter.
The confirmation was made by Jojo Liwag, Decorp retail service manager of Decorp, to Mayor Belen Fernandez who earlier sought an investigation on the electrical connection of the recently-opened bank.
The bank is a subsidiary of AMB. ALC Holding and Management Corp., the company that bought the MC Adore Hotel in a controversial sale from the Dagupan City government through then Mayor Benjamin Lim for P119 million.
Liwag explained that the electric consumption of the bank is included in the total billing of the Dagupan City government for the month of June in the amount of P3.9 million which the city already paid in full.
Acting Budget Officer Luz de Guzman said Decorp sent another billing for the month of July in the amount of some P3.9 million which it has not yet settled to date.
The city continues to experience low cash position since June when the city’s annual budget was practically fully spent by the past city administration in six months.
Liwag clarified that Citystate Bank did offer to pay its own electric consumption but this was not possible since the city government is the registered owner of the electric meter that the bank uses.
NO BUSINESS PERMIT
Meanwhile, the bank continues to operate without a business permit since it undertook construction without a building permit or renovation permit from the city government.
City Engineer Virginia Rosario earlier refused to issue a building permit, a prerequisite for a business permit, citing the pending legal case on the MC Adore property questioning the authority of Lim to negotiate the sale of the city-owned building.
Decorp requires the business and building permits for an electric supply application.
The electric meter being tapped by the bank was previously assigned to the Dagupan City Community Precinct that used to occupy the space.
Fernandez said she will refer the matter to the city legal office for appropriate legal action.
One option, she said, is simply to remove the electric meter but the city has yet to determine if the use of the meter was part of the terms of sale arranged by the Lim administration.
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