Mayor Loot open to inventory of town properties

Daanbantayan town Mayor Maria Luisa Loot, who is on her last term, said she is open to any inventory of the municipal properties acquired during her nine-year leadership.

This after former councilor Rosanni Luche reportedly threatened Loot with legal action if she cannot conduct an inventory of the municipal properties she inherited from the past administration.

But Loot stressed that when she took over the mayoralty position, only the town's "official seal" was given to her, adding that it was obvious that Luche was only politicking since he is reportedly the campaign manager of the opposition.

The mayor said nothing was turned over to her when she took over the mayoralty position in 1998. Luche was the chairman of the municipal council committee on town properties at that time.

When she assumed office, Loot said the municipality has over P14 million debt, and has only P30 million internal revenue allotment and P2.1million local taxes being a fourth class municipality.

But due to her "proper management," Loot claimed that Daanbantayan became a second-class town with at least P58 million IRA and P12.8 million local taxes as of this year.

She stressed that she was able to build a modern public market and a bus terminal worth P85 million out of the local funds, assistance from the provincial government and a loan.

While the local government is paying P5.2 million a year for its loan, Loot reported that the terminal is generating P6 million annually. "Ang among 20 percent development fund wa g'yud na natandog."

Aside from the P13 million surplus, Loot explained that her administration still has P25 million worth of projects set for implementation. One of the projects is the roll-on/roll-off port in barangay Maya that Loot sees as the gateway to the town's development.

The seventh mayor elected in Daanbantayan, Loot proudly said: "Bisan iponon pa ang tanan nilang agi, wa ra sa kalingkingan sa akong nine years."

Loot said she wanted her son, Sun Shimura, to succeed her so that the development she started would continue. - Gregg M. Rubio/LPM