THE Mandaue City Government is now debt-free after its remaining loan obligations for its P250-million loan for the construction of a building at the city’s old market was finally paid off.
Lawyer Regal Oliva, Mandaue City Treasurer, told SunStar Cebu that they were able to pay its remaining loan obligation of P22 million to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) was paid off earlier this month.
In 2006, the Mandaue City government loaned around P250 million to put up a building at the city’s old public market located at the back of the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
The market remained unused since 2013 after an earthquake heavily damaged the structure.
Oliva said they recently got their insurance from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) which is around P36 million.
With this, Oliva said they got their revenues to pay off the remaining loan obligations of P22 million using the P36 million that they got from the insurance.
On September 22, the Mandaue City government received the certificate of full payment the DBP to certify that the city has fully paid its loan as of September 17, 2021.
The insurance was supposed to be released by the end of Mayor Jonas Cortes’s term in 2022 but Oliva said they wanted to cut it short in order for the City to be declared as debt-free and that they won’t have to pay any amortization.
Oliva said the City can now devote more of its funds to its ongoing pandemic response instead of paying off their loan obligations.
With the City now cleared of its debts, Oliva said this could mean a higher debt capacity score for the City and will allow them to borrow a higher amount with lower interest rates. (KFD)