Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said the officials of the Land Bank of the Philippines will refer the matter of the loan for the construction of the city government center to their national office since there is a pending case involving the project.

Rolando Villamor, the legal counsel of the complainants seeking the declaration of nullity of the contract between the City of Bacolod and Hilmarc's Construction Corp., said he had written LBP twice informing them about the matter.

The case was filed Friday by Miguel Carriedo, Jesus Lazaro, Ben Solilapsi, Allan Calilan and Abraham Tingson against Leonardia, the members of the Bids and Awards Committee, HCC and 10 councilors who authorized the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the winning bidder.

Leonardia said if HCC did not have the financial capacity, there would have been a total stoppage of the construction of the government center. What is clear is that the purpose of the complainants in filing the case is to delay the project because the contract states that if there is a case, the bank would withhold the release of the loan, he said.

"I am expecting that after this case, there will be more cases to be filed for the purpose of delaying the project," Leonardia said. We heard that the strategy of our political opponents is to file more cases, he said.

Councilor Greg Gasataya said the complainants do not want the government center project pursued now. It is their own interest and not the interest of the people of Bacolod they are pushing, he said.

Councilor Homer Bais said some independent lawyers are wondering why the case seeking the nullification of the contract was filed against the city officials when it is the City of Bacolod and HCC that are involved in the contract. He said they believe the filing of the case is tainted with politics. It is obvious that their lawyer, who owns a property near the Guanzon property, has a personal interest in filing the case, he added.

Councilor Napoleon Cordova said anybody has the right to file a case. If you are being sued you should dance to the music and not run away.

City Legal Officer Zamora said that once they have received the summons and complaint they have two options, either to file their answer with special and affirmative defenses or file a motion to dismiss. "Normally, when you say special and affirmative defenses, these are also your grounds for a motion to dismiss," he said. They are studying which is the best option, he added.

Zamora said he believes the purpose in filing the case is to inform LBP that there is a complaint so the bank does not release the loan. He said if this happens, they are considering borrowing from other banks. However, this will depend on the decision of the Mayor and the SP, he added.

Zamora also said Rogelio Peig, counsel of HCC, visited his office yesterday to inquire about the case and what possible action the city will take.*CGS

back to top