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CUC falls short by $1.3M in Mobil payment
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Posted on Apr 21 2005
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. managed to raise yesterday barely a third of the $1.8-million payment being demanded by Mobil Oil Marianas.
Pamela Mathis, CUC special adviser for corporate communications, said the utility firm would pay $500,000 to Mobil today. CUC is planning to settle the $1.3-million balance next Friday, April 29.
At press time, Mathis did not have information as to whether the half million dollars came from CUC’s own collections or the Babauta administration.
Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig declined to confirm, saying he was away from the office all day meeting with visitors from the federal government. “The money might have come from the Finance Department. I’m not sure. I’ll find out [Friday] morning,” he said.
Mathis also said that Mobil was likely to be aware of the utility firm’s plan by now, as CUC officials have been in constant communication with the oil company regarding the payment.
Mobil has given CUC until yesterday to pay the $1.8-million balance from the $4 million that was due last Friday, April 15.
The oil supplier also threatened to stop delivering fuel for the power plants if CUC failed to make the payment by April 21.
“As mentioned in the past, Mobil wants to work with CUC, but in light of the serious financial situation at CUC, it is only prudent for Mobil to formally notify CUC that due to the short payment on April 15, 2005 of $1,806,680.52. CUC is in default of its contract,” Jojo Dadivas, Mobil commercial territory manager, said in an April 19 letter to the utility firm.
He added, “We are therefore demanding of payment of $1,806,680.52 by April 21, 2005; otherwise we will not be able to deliver the truck and pipeline deliveries to CUC power plants.”
According to Mathis, acting CUC executive director Bernard Villagomez and comptroller Sohale Samari met with several government officials yesterday to try to come up with the needed amount. “They’re really trying to work something out,” she said.
