Lawmaker claims 44 PEA execs got P13-M in loans

Forty-four past directors and officers of the scandal-rocked Public Estates Authority (PEA) owe their agency nearly P13 million in unpaid car, housing and computer loans.

Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas, Bukidnon) revealed this yesterday based on the findings of a Commission on Audit team that conducted a financial audit of PEA.

Zubiri said as of December 2000, uncollected loans from 44 former agency officers, including two chairmen and seven directors who served during the Ramos administration, totaled P12.9 million.

He said most of the loans were obtained in 1995.

He said 12 officials, including seven directors in the Ramos period, took out interest-free car loans payable through salary deductions over 10 years.

"But despite the lenient repayment terms, not one of them had paid a single centavo as of the time of the audit. Decent men would have reciprocated the kind gesture – imagine a 10-year interest-free loan – by repaying religiously," Zubiri said.

The PEA embarked on a housing program dubbed Pabahay 2000 under which officers and employees were granted loans at a "concessional" interest rate of six percent for 25 years.

"Again, despite these borrower-friendly features, 27 loans obtained by previous PEA officers, totaling P6.210 million, remained unpaid as of December 2000, prompting government auditors to prod PEA to start foreclosing the housing units," said Zubiri.

He said computer loans were also given out, but 31 loans totaling P793,000 had not been paid.

The agency that owns reclaimed land along Manila Bay has been in the headlines since two weeks ago when board member Sulficio Tagud claims its P1.1-billion road project named after the late President Diosdado Macapagal has been overpriced by P600 million.

Over the weekend, Tagud dropped another bombshell – cars were allegedly skimmed from the construction budget and given away to PEA board members and officers.