P135M payment for ACT scholars stalled anew
A proposed resolution that would have the Cebu city government deposit a P135 million payment for the Asian College of Technology International Education Foundation (ACTIEF) in court got stalled in the Cebu City Council yesterday.
Councilor Margarita Osmena, who heads the budget and finance committee, said that passing it would preempt an ongoing review of the proposal by the City Legal Office.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo said some of his colleagues made the proposal after meeting with lawyers of the school, who said that Cebu City Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa divested his shares and is no longer an owner.
“For two consecutive sessions, the committee has reached a consensus for the city to file an interpleader to the court and deposit the entire amount due to ACT,” Carillo said in a privilege speech yesterday.
The legal remedy would have one party deposit what he owes in court in view of reservations and conflicts over the obligation.
The party claiming payment would have to prove in court that it is entitled to the amount.
The Cebu City government owes P135 million to ACTIEF for students who enrolled there under scholarship grants of Cebu City at P10,000 per semester..
The school won’t release the Transcript of Records (TOR) of scholars who graduated last March until the bill is settled by the Cebu City government.
City officials are hesitant in paying since the Ombudsman rendered a decision finding Congressman Abellanosa guilty of a conflict of interest.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
