DBP Loan for Nueva Ecija
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) has recently approved the provincial government’s application for a P1-billion credit facility with a local bank.
Vice Governor Jose Gay Padiernos said the P1-billion Omnibus Credit Facility (OCF) from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will be used to bankroll flagship and big-ticket projects of the provincial government, including a P100-million world-class water sports complex and theme park, sub-station, mango processing plant, and cold storage facility among others.
He said the loan is “no big deal” as there are other provincial governments that incur even “bigger, gargantuan loans,” citing Bulacan which applied for a P2.1-billion loan.
Padiernos was reacting to concerns raised regarding the loan package, which some local observers pointed out, could plunge the province into financial problems.
This, on top of the P280-million loan it incurred for the construction of 325 additional classrooms.
The SP has recently passed a resolution giving Governor Aurelio Umali the authority to negotiate and secure an OCF worth P1 billion to finance “various infrastructure and development projects” in the province.
The Board of the Directors of the DBP subsequently approved the loan facility which has a maximum 9 percent interest per annum payable for 15 years.
Padiernos said the loan package had undergone thorough scrutiny by the 14-man SP.
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