CEBU CITY — Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has refuted attempts to connect her 1996 bank loan to her current political position, asserting that the matter stems from her time as a businesswoman long before she entered politics. In a press conference on Friday, Garcia addressed the controversy, which resurfaced after the Supreme Court rejected her appeal against an alias writ of execution issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court in 2012. The court had ordered her to pay $700,000 in damages to Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) with interest and legal fees. Garcia explained that she was still living in Ormoc City and had not yet assumed any political office at the time the loan was approved. "The loan should not be linked to my role as governor," Garcia said, emphasizing that the transaction was a private business undertaking. Garcia's lawyer, Alex Avisado Jr., explained that the court's decision cannot be enforced due to the long delay in the case. He pointed out that HSBC failed to execute the judgment within the 10-year limit, which expired in 2013. HSBC had attempted to revive the judgment by filing a motion with the Taguig Regional Trial Court in February 2023, but the court dismissed it, ruling that the bank's action had been filed too late. In 1996, Garcia had borrowed $900,000 from HSBC to purchase a cargo barge for her Ormoc-based business, GGC Enterprises. She secured the loan with a 20-hectare property valued at P30 million as collateral. However, when the Asian Financial Crisis gripped the Southeast Asian market in 1997, interest rates soared and her business struggled to meet its financial obligations. Garcia claimed that HSBC refused to negotiate more manageable repayment terms and instead attached her $200,000 deposit held with the bank. She also said the bank rejected her offer to foreclose on the collateral property, leading to the dispute. Garcia also slammed HSBC for inflating the loan, which had an uncovered balance of $700,000 to $2.8 million. Her legal team pointed out that the Court of Appeals had already reduced the amount owed to $700,000, but the dispute continued due to HSBC's refusal to accept earlier settlements. Meanwhile, the governor also expressed frustration with political vloggers, particularly members of the Diehard Duterte Supporters group, who she said were trying to fabricate a conflict between her and Vice President Sara Duterte over the loan issue. "Why they have to make this an issue to attack me and then bring in the Vice President?" she asked. Garcia dismissed such allegations, saying her respect for both the vice president and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remain undaunted.
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