MISAMIS Oriental Gov. Juliette Uy and Limketkai Luxe Hotel general manager Jerome de la Fuente settled a misunderstanding on July 11 regarding a provincial debt that went viral on social media.
The confusion stemmed from Uy’s pronouncement during a Department of Agrarian Reform’s land distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership (CLOAs) for beneficiaries on July 10 in Naawan.
Uy had said that despite the Capitol’s many payables, including a debt to the hotel, she would still find ways to aid the farmers of Misamis Oriental.
The pronouncement angered de la Fuente, who clarified that the previous Unabia administration had no payables to the hotel, not even a single peso.
“P48 million yon ngang piso sininisingil ko pa,” de la Fuente said in an interview with iFM-RMN dxCC.
He added that his superiors had begun questioning him and asking for an explanation, leading him to tell Uy to stop maligning him.
The misunderstanding was resolved when Uy discovered the P48 million debt was owed by the previous administration to Velox, a gasoline station, not Luxe Hotel.
A July 3 letter addressed to Uy from Velox Energy Philippines requested settlement of an outstanding fuel balance and notified the province that new orders and purchase orders for the Provincial Capitol would be withheld.
The letter emphasized the account was 90 days past due.
During her Naawan speech where she addressed the P48 million in payables, Uy assured that the provincial government would pay the outstanding amount.
“Ako namay gobernador, maningkamot kita unsaon pagbayad,” Uy said.
Provincial Information Officer Joanne Tabique confirmed that Uy and de la Fuente have spoken and resolved the misunderstanding.
