City takes out funds from PPSB, transfers it to LBP, other banks
-A A +AFriday, July 13, 2012
THE Cebu City Government has started withdrawing funds deposited at the Philippine Postal Savings Bank (PPSB).
In a news conference yesterday, City Mayor Michael Rama said he signed several papers to transfer some of the City’s funds with PPSB to the Land Bank of the Philippines and other authorized depository banks of the City Government.
The mayor said he signed the papers before his July 2 State of the City Address.
Asked how much has been withdrawn from PPSB, Rama said he can no longer remember.
“But mas maayo nga naa nay na-withdraw. Mao na akong gisulti nga ayaw ko ninyo i-challenge (It’s good that some of the funds have been taken out. That’s why I’m telling the bank not to challenge me),” he said.
According to a radio DYLA report, the City still has P26 million with PPSB.
Rama earlier said he wants all of the City’s funds withdrawn from PPSB, after the bank temporarily withheld two checks issued by City Hall.
PPSB said it tagged and returned the checks because these were charged to the wrong account.
The two checks, reportedly having a total value of P16,000, was supposed to pay the private hospital bill of a beneficiary of the City’s hospitalization and medicine program.
Normal
City Hall lawyer Jade Ponce said in a separate interview that the City’s move to withdraw all its funds deposited at PPSB is normal as it has lost its trust in the bank.
Ponce, who is representing the City Government in the Rallos case, said PPSB seems to be helping the heirs of Fr. Vicente Rallos, who are demanding P133 million from City Hall.
Ponce was referring to a news item (not in Sun.Star Cebu) that came out in March this year, stating that a lawyer of PPSB had told the Regional Trial Court that the bank is willing to release the account numbers of the City to facilitate the payment of the money claim of the Rallos heirs.
PPSB said the news report is “erroneous,” adding that their lawyer made no such statement in court.
The Rallos heirs asked the court to garnish the City’s bank accounts to collect P133 million as payment for a property that the local government uses as a barangay road.
The court issued a garnishment order but the Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the garnishment from being enforced.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 13, 2012.
Local news
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