Sangil: EdPam explains P1.2-B loan
I wish Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan all the luck in the world for his ABEKA party list to get the desired number to qualify him as a member of the House of Representatives. Repeatedly I love telling his story because of my closeness to him. I envy his rise to prominence and the quality of public service he rendered to constituencies. And I am genuinely happy for him.
Let me start with the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991 which brought widespread destruction. And true to the saying that in every adversity there lies an opportunity, then Vice Mayor Ed Pamintuan was ushered into the tide of good fortune. He was the acting mayor when the late Mayor Antonio Abad Santos made a trip to the United States. And in that brief period Pamintuan exerted efforts to get the attention of the Angeles constituency. He succeeded.
In one of his speeches before the elections of 1992 he declared: “On May 11 this year, the people will troop to the polls and exercise their sovereign rights to choose their leaders. Those who have served well will get the mandate. Those who have betrayed the people’s trust will be booted out of Office. Those who have led our city and its people through the worst crisis Angeles has ever seen will have earned the people’s lasting gratitude, hopefully their votes as well.”
He continued: “All of these, we have done in the few short months that the people of Angeles have allowed me to serve as the city’s acting mayor. We do not crave for a big share of the credit for work already done, for the bigger job of reconstruction lies ahead. But we were there when it really counted.”
“My record as a public servant is an open book. Believing as I do that the voice of the people is supreme and that people are wise and just. I humbly ask the people to render their judgment based on my performance record.”
And in the May 1992 elections, Pamintuan bested all his opponents in that mayoral race. That’s a recorded history. Now he is a senior citizen like me, but will not fade from view. He maybe in congress next year for all you know. But the sad part is he will descend city hall with a controversy. And that’s the P1.2 billion loan he secured which was opposed by his erstwhile friend and political ally, mayoral candidate Alex Cauguiran.
As I promised in last Tuesday’s column, I will print his explanation, here are some highlights.
“Not extravagant at all. The loan is for the future of the city. The projects will benefit tens of thousands of Angelenos. It is for a new city hall. The city is perhaps the only highly urbanized city in the entire country with an old city hall that is not even senior citizens and PWD-friendly. It is for a multi-level parking building for the taxpayers and those transacting business at city hall.
“It’s for a sports complex for the athletes of the city. Angeles has lagged behind in sports competition because of lack of facilities to develop athletes. It’s also for various heavy equipment like payloader and back hoe for the city engineer’s office. It’s for new dialysis machines for renal care.
“The loan passed through a rigorous process. It was authorized by the Sanggunian Panglungsod. It passed the Bureau of Local Government Finance. It was approved by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. It underwent close scrutiny by the top officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines.”
In the next article hopefully I can get records of the itemized cost of each project, how much they cost, when will be the bidding and other pertinent issues. You and me, the public have the right to know. And Mayor Pamintuan is transparent.