VICE Mayor Vicente Emano will himself inherit his former administration's debts that stands at over half a billion peso, if he'll succeed in recapturing City Hall in 2010.

City Treasurer's records shown to this paper disclose that as of this month, the loans incurred by the former Emano administration from state-run banks have a total standing balance of around P654 million.

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Each of these barrowings has 15-year amortization period, the latest incurred in 2007.

That means the last of these debts will not be wiped out from the books until 2022; payments for loans incurred in 2003 and 2004 will terminate in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Meanwhile, City Treasurer Lino Daral confirmed that City Hall had used as collaterals several public properties, including parcels of land under the controversial P1-per-lot or "piso-piso" program.

Records obtained by this paper show that at least 27 parcels of land ranging from 376 to 326,352 square meters were motgaged by the Emano administration as guarantee for the loans.

Daral made it clear, however, that the land titles withheld by the banks have been returned to the local government recently after making corresponding payments to the obligations.

What remain in the hands of the banks, he said, are the titles for the properties in Gusa Eastbound and Bulua Westbound terminal and market facilities.

The two facilities were mortgaged to secure a total of P1 billion loans from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

At the height of the Emano administration, the local government borrowed as high as P1.4 billion, records previously obtained by this paper from state auditors show.

Money from these borrowings was largely used to fund various infrastructure projects and in securing lands for the P1-per-lot program.

Allegations of irregularities, however, have riddled most of these projects, and Emano and other officials are facing graft cases related to these anomalies.

Emano, who is eyeing a comeback, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing as mayor from 1998 to 2007. (DVAIII)