CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Rolando 'Klarex' Uy faces a significant financial challenge as he inherits P2.9 billion in unpaid bills from his predecessor, Oscar Moreno.
The issue even came to light when the former Mayor accused Mayor Uy on his radio program of failing to make payments to contractors and settle the city's accounts.
But the Klarex's team says it's not fair for Moreno to complain.
They say he left behind the big bills, including a P7.8 million debt to a Jesuit university for using their dorms.
For two years, the city didn't pay for those dorms, and now Mayor Uy's team has to find a way to pay that debt and all the other money the city owes.
BenCyrus G. Ellorin, who speaks for Mayor Uy, pointed out that it's wrong for Moreno to criticize the new mayor because Moreno's team didn't pay their bills when they had the chance.
He asked why the bills got so high over 25 months when Moreno was in charge.
Now, Mayor Uy's people are working hard to sort out these money issues, according to Ellorin.
He said they're getting all the papers they need to figure out how to pay back what the city owes.
The city's administrator lawyer Hilario Roy Raagas said they will talk to the university soon to try to fix the problem.
They want to make things better and work well with the university and everyone else the city owes money to.
A paper from June 30, 2022, shows the city's money situation.
It lists all the things the city owns, like cash, investments, and property, and all the money it owes.
The city has some money saved up, but it's not enough to pay all the bills.
The city owns things worth about P9.6 billion, but it has to pay back P2.9 billion.
Even with these debts, the city still has a good amount of money left as its own, over P6.6 billion.
A document certified by lawyer Beda Joy Elot, who held the position of city accountant during Moreno's tenure, shows.
Mayor Uy's goal is to clear up these old debts and make sure the city's money is handled well from now on, according to Ellorin.
