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‘Release of delinquent list unprofessional’
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Posted on Oct 23 2004
Former Commonwealth Development Authority board chair Juan S. Tenorio said he is disappointed with the agency’s recent decision to make public a list of “delinquent” borrowers, calling the move “unprofessional” and “uncalled for.”
“I was not happy about releasing those names. It’s uncalled for and unprofessional. If I were there, it would never happen,” he said in an interview.
Tenorio left the CDA board last year after serving the agency for over 20 years.
The CDA, headed by board chair Calixto Igisomar, earlier disclosed that all nine senators and 15 members of the House of Representatives have relatives with loans in default.
This came after the Legislature passed a bill that offers relief to delinquent borrowers. Among others, the bill seeks to prevent the CDA from filing foreclosure or default collection proceedings—or any court proceeding—on any delinquent loan without first meeting with the borrower and making “good faith attempt” to resolve the outstanding indebtedness.
CDA maintained that the measure, Senate Bill 14-48, is “a special interest legislation of the worst kind.”
It said that the “reason for the passage…is because of the aggressive lobbying efforts of several high profile defaulted borrowers.”
CDA considers the bill “illegal and unconstitutional” noting that will impair the obligations of contracts.
Further, the agency said that the measure would bankrupt the CDA, affect its relationships with federal agencies, lose its integrity, and kill upcoming economic development.
CDA has said that its delinquency rate has reached 83 percent.
Tenorio said that CDA exists primarily “to stimulate the economy” and this means helping businesses stay afloat amid financial difficulty.
Tenorio said the delinquency rate includes two categories of borrowers: those who don’t pay at all and those who pay but not based on the agreement.
He said the “real” delinquency rate at CDA would only amount to 21 percent.
“It’s only 21 percent. Well, this is not acceptable in commercial banking but bear in mind that CDA is there to stimulate the economy. It’s different from other lending institutions. So a 21 percent [delinquency rate], in a sense, is acceptable [for a government-run agency],” he said.
