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HOPING to keep intact their ancestral house in barangay Alang Alang in Mandaue City, the family of Rep. Nerissa Soon Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) has asked former senator John “Sonny” Osmena that they be allowed to pay their standing loan by installments.
Gonzalo Malig-on, spokesman for Ruiz, said the congresswoman and other members of the Soon family still could not pay in full their P12 million debt to Osmeña.
“Nag sige pa ang ilang negotiations. Ni hangyo sila nga dili lang one time payment pero dili mo sugot si Sonny Osmeña (Negotiations are still going on. They (Soon family) have asked that they be allowed to pay in staggered basis but Sonny Osmeña refused),” Malig-on said last night.
The lawyer said that as much as possible the Soon family would not want to make public the details of their negotiations to avoid jeopardizing its outcome.
Osmeña said in an earlier interview that Congresswoman Ruiz and the Soon family have until Feb. 15 to pay their debt.
Malig-on said the Soon family availed of a loan with the Rural Bank of Subangdaku to fund Ruiz's campaign in 1998 against then Mandaue City mayor Thadeo Ouano.
Ruiz lost the election to Ouano who was then running for the first time to replace outgoing mayor Alfredo Ouano.
Former senator Osmeña, offered to pay off the bank loan in 2001 when Ruiz ran for 6th district representative and was also supporting the candidacy of former governor John Gregory Osmeña.
“Sukad 2001 hangtod 2004 wala gyud maghisgot si Sonny ug bayad hangtud nga nagkabangi na sila sa politika (Since 2004, Sonny never mentioned payment until both parted ways due to politics),” said Malig-on last night.
Osmeña for his part said that Ruiz failed to redeem the property she mortgaged to him as security for the payment of a loan worth P8 million.
The loan amount reached P47 million which already included penalties and bank interests but he only asked to be paid P12 million.
Osmeña said the title of the Soon property in barangay Alang Alang was already transferred under his name on Feb. 16, 2008.
Ruiz and the Soon family have one year or until Feb. 15, 2009 to redeem the property. Reporter Doris C. Bongcac
