By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY — Cabuyao City Vice Mayor Atty. Leif Laiglon A. Opiña revealed on Friday (Nov. 22) an alleged illegal PHP4-billion loan secured from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as well as a hastily-approved PHP3.302-billion budget of Cabuyao City, Laguna.
Opiña is running for Mayor of Cabuyao City in the May 12, 2025 national and local elections.
Opiña was joined by concerned farmer leaders and residents of Barangay Casile, Cabuyao City in the revelation in a press conference during the Huntahan Media Forum hosted by Atty. Toto Ylagan in Aristocrat Restaurant, QC Memorial Circle.
He said that he would like to have a platform to disclose the loan facility which did not pass through the proper procedure and he will expound on the matter about their annual executive budget which also has many irregularities.
Opiña is on his second term as Vice Mayor of Cabuyao City and he was only the one who won in his political party. He said that 90 percent of his office budget was slashed by the current local government of Cabuyao City.
He entered politics in 2004 and passed the Bar Examinations in 2005.
Opiña disclosed about the PHP4-B loan that their city has secured from the DBP purportedly without undergoing proper legal procedures and deliberations.
The Cabuyao City official divulged the allegedly railroaded and hastily-approved P3.302-B budget for 2025 of their city.
Opiña was joined by farmers and village leaders of Barangay Casile, Cabuyao, Laguna.
Cabuyao is known as “Enterprising City” such that big companies and industries entered their city such as conception Inidustries, Nestle Philippines, Lazada and many others. It is “investor friendly” such that one a “sleeping city” is now a “bustling city”.
The city has been receiving a big national allotment such that their major source of income is agriculture and fisheries. They are number one in the production of pumpkin.
Cabuyao is host to Himalayan College and has two big hospitals and it is sandwiched by the cities of Sta. Rosa and Calamba, Laguna.
Opiña said that as a young legislator back in 2004, as the years passed he gained knowledge about the progress and development of Cabuyao City, noting that why should the city government has to secure a loan of PHP4 billion without giving a justification for such loan.
It started in the third quarter of 2022 or immediately after the 2022 elections and he could not understand the “wisdom” of securing such a PHP4-billion loan from the DBP and that he was not anymore allowed to participate in the deliberations on the matter being the Presiding Officer of the City Council.
Under the concept of the Local Government Code, it should be “open” to the public, but they held a session in the house of a Councilor and not in the City and it was a violation of the law and the Internal Rules of the City Council.
The Vice Mayor questioned such illegal session and raised the matter before the Provincial Government of Laguna and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), however, he was charged for dereliction of duty.
“They railroaded the terms and conditions of the approval of the PHP4-billion loan (term loan) from the DBP,” Opina said, which can be settled for a maximum of 15 years and the national allotment of Cabuyao City was included in the “colatilla”.
Opina only knew then that the net borrowing capacity of the Cabuyao City then was pegged at PHP3 billion.
“Hindi po ako sang-ayon sa PHP4-billion loan dahil hindi po ito dumaan sa deliberasyon. Ang magbabayad po ng utang na ito ay hindi lamang ang siyudad ng Cabuyao kundi ang lahat ng mamamayan ng Cabuyao,” Opina said.
“Ayaw ng mga konsehal noon na umutang ng PHP200 milyon para sa pagpapatayo ng Cabuyao State College pero gusto nilang umutang ng PHP4 bilyon mula sa DBP,” he added.
Opina has filed cases in the Ombudsman which are now pending for allegedly hiring employees without the authorization from the City Mayor. As Presiding Officer of the City Council, Opina said that he has the right to raise questions and not to “relinquish his position”.
The DILG said that the Vice Mayor is the Head of the Office of the Vice Mayor and the Mayor is the Head of the Executive Office and that the Vice Mayor has the right to appoint employees.
Opina has received the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing all the charges filed against him.
During the previous sessions of the City Council he was ignored and was not provided with information or any documents, hence, he asked the DBP to furnish him documents pertaining to the PHP4-billion loan of Cabuyao City, but the DBP told him that they would not allow
“I can only furnish documents na meron ako,” Opina said. He said that the power of media is very huge in finding out the truth so that the “mechanics” of the PHP4-billion DBP loan of Cabuyao City will be known by the public.
He stressed that the City Administrator of Cabuyao has previously been the Provincial Administrator of Batangas and during that time, he also secured a PHP4-billion loan, which he also did when he became Cabuyao City Administrator.
Opina slammed the “inclination to hide documents”, noting that the matter is not being taken into consideration in the City of Cabuyao.
The city budget for 2024 was approved in the First and Second Reading, the copy of which was not furnished the Office of the Vice Mayor, and it needed him to go to the Provincial Capitol of Laguna just to be able to secure of the copy of the 2024 budget.
Opina scored that PHP3.302-billion budget for 2025 of Cabuyao City was only based on a “piece of paper”, he said that he did not approve the motion and asked that a copy of the proposed budget should be furnished the members of the City Council.
This prompted the Provincial Government of Laguna to furnish all the members of the Cabuyao City Council, including the Vice Mayor, the copy of the 2025 PHP3.302-billion of the City. The same was affirmed by the DILG.
Opina has previously made several posts on his social media about the matter as early as 2022 from local media and he has raised it now before the national media in Quezon City.
He presented to the media the official documents where the PHP4-billion loan from the DBP will be spent such as the New City Hall, Sports Arena, free wifi in the Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, a 3-storey building, construction of Bagong Cabuyao Super Palengke, streetlights, which was from the notice of loan approval from the DBP.
The Vice Mayor stressed that two ordinances on the City Budget have been forwarded to the Provincial Government of Laguna,
The oppression case had clarificatory hearing last Nov. 13, 2024 and given one month to submit a “rejoinder” and once submitted, it is deemed submitted for resolution.
“I was able to justify my arguments properly and I believe in the integrity of the Ombudsman,” Opina said.
From the original PHP100-million budget, it went down to PHP7 million and it further went down to PHP5 million. Opina asked for an opportunity to defend the budget of the Office of the Vice Mayor.
This prompted Opina to filed charges for grave abuse of authority for depriving him the opportunity to defend the budget of the Office of the Vice Mayor as well as oppression.
Tatay Greg Casalme, a farmer leader from Barangay Casile, said his farmland measures about 20 to 24 hectares. Casalme was grateful that despite their social standing, they were extended assistance by the Vice Mayor.
Casalme said that their farmland is good for agriculture, adding that they are protesting the illegal fencing and gate construction carried out by the Emirates Security Agency and the Santa Rosa Realty Development Corporation (SRRDC) on Sept. 23, 2024.
The actions, which were conducted under the cover of darkness, have blocked access to a 24-hectare farmland and restricted 11 families from moving freely in their community.
Casalme said that the 24-hectare farmland will be affected by the construction of the Cavite-Calax Expressway.
“Between 12 am and 1 am, the illegal actions were made in the agricultural farmland,” he said.
“We are now gathering documents in order to file the appropriate charges in proper government agencies,” he added.
“Hindi po naimporta ang tao about sa Calax,” Casalme said.
Allan Pajavera, a farmer leader, said that they would like to help them in their fight in Barangay Casile and he was very thankful to Vice Mayor Opina.
