BONTOC, Mt. Province: A provincial board member over the weekend asked President Benigno Aquino 3rd and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to cancel the loan extended by the bank, totaling P265.5 million, to the province because of alleged irregularities.

Francisco Balisong, ex-officio board member and president of the Councilors League of Mountain Province, said that he has written the Office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monetary Board, President Benigno Aquino 3rd, the president of LBP and the chairman of the Commission on Audit (COA), for the cited purpose.

In Balisong’s letter to president Gilda Pico of the LBP, he said: “Request is hereby made that the payment of the said project or the release of funds in relation thereto be held in abeyance pending the result of the investigation to be conducted by the Commission on Audit.”

Meanwhile, in his letter to Audit Secretary Heidi Mendoza, he said that the Land Bank-La Union branch partially released P5 million in relation to a P37.5-million project subject to a resolution of the provincial council.

The loan was intended to finance road improvements in Besao town in Mt. Province.

However, Balisong said that “due to some delay in the final loan release, the Gov. Leonard Mayaen utilized the 20 percent of the budget of calendar year 2012 to proceed, completed and paid the contractor of the said project.”

“As per ocular observations, it is submitted that anomalies has been committed in the implementation of the said project,” he stressed.

“Stones used for stone walls pursuant to the approved programs of works must be hauled from Chico River, unfortunately, the stones used were actually taken from the site where the program was implemented,” the provincial councilor noted.

He also mentioned that the “thickness of the grouted riprap failed to comply with the program of work.”

Balisong added that “some portions of the widening items was classified to be solid rocks when in truth and in fact it is not, it is actually an unclassified earth thereby causing prejudice and damages to the coffers to the government.”

“The project implemented is substandard having failed to comply with the program of work,” he said.

Balisong, thus, called on COA conduct an investigation and impose proper sanctions against whoever is involved in the implementation of the project.

Moreover, in his letter to the President, he expressed concern over the loan obtained by the province from the LBP.

He noted that the P37 million and a separate loan of about P228 million were “still being applied for from the same bank allegedly to fund projects which are highly questionable and suspicious as to its real importance, necessity, wisdom and purpose.

Referring to the first loan, Balisong said that “the issue on this is the fact that even before the said loan was contracted the farm to market road it intended to fund was already under construction and to the best of my information, since my effort to procure documents relative to these loan and project to be funded was denied by the concerned offices in the province, the project was already paid by the province upon its completion even before any release from the loan has been obtained.”

“Said farm to market road is shockingly below the standard quality since the same are already practically damaged at this very early upon completion. At this point, may I ask that the province be ordered to the office of the undersigned copies of the documents pertaining to the P37 million including documents related to the aforequoted projects,” the provincial councilor added.

“As to the second loan still being obtained, the issue is the real intention of Governor Mayaen in obtaining this loan through an Omnibus Term Loan Facility specially that election period is very much to begin in a few months,” he stated.

According to Balisong, some of the proposed projects to be funded by this loan are suspect.

He cited that a funding of P30 million is proposed for the continuation of the provincial capitol.

Balisong, however, maintained that the former governor has just recently renovated the provincial capitol.

He stressed: “The province has not submitted a feasibility study on the project to be funded in the said loan.”

He called on the President to issue a directive to direct concerned agencies to stop the approval of “irregular loan” and for the Department of Interior and Local Government to conduct an investigation on the propriety and feasibility of the loan.