Another senator cried foul over the Commonwealth Development Authority\u2019s allegation of conflict of interest among lawmakers who voted for the passage of the CDA credit relief bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really bothers me. In fact, what really bothers me is that I never picked up a loan from CDA. When I entered politics, my mom told me to stay away from CDA because it\u2019s for people [not for politicians]. My dad, a businessman, never picked up a loan from CDA,\u201d said Villagomez.<\/p>\n
The senator, according to CDA, has \u201cthree first cousins with loans in default.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villagomez was off-island when the Senate made a final vote on the bill, but he said that he supported it during the initial reading.<\/p>\n
\u201cI voted [for the bill] the first time before it went to the House. I voted for people [borrowers] to get help. Remember that the CDA board has the fiduciary responsibility in reviewing those loans. When they review, they look at the individuals. They never called up the Legislature to get our side before approving those loans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can imagine how many first cousins I have. Not one of them approached me [asking me] to support the bill. It\u2019s not fair for CDA to point fingers,\u201d he said. He said some of his cousins actually called him to ask who among them have bad loans.<\/p>\n
The CDA, he said, would not disclose the specific names of borrowers, citing confidentiality, but \u201cI think they\u2019re breaking their own confidentiality\u201d when they revealed that some of lawmakers\u2019 parents have delinquent loans.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Sen. Pete P. Reyes also lambasted CDA for being \u201cextremely unfair\u201d in identifying and accusing him as one of the lawmakers who favored \u201ca special interest\u201d bill.<\/p>\n
Reyes said he was not aware of any lobbying efforts and that he never knew of any cousin with a bad loan with the agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly don\u2019t know any one of my relatives with loans. I have absolutely no control over my relatives. If they want to borrow, that\u2019s their decision. It\u2019s just unfair to put my name, accusing that I voted for it only because my \u2018first cousin\u2019 would benefit from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
CDA had disclosed that all nine senators, including Reyes and Villagomez, and 15 other members of the House of Representatives have relatives with loans in default. <\/p>\n
The Legislature earlier passed Senate Bill 14-48 or the CDA credit relief bill to, among others, prevent the CDA from filing foreclosure or default collection proceedings\u2014or any court proceeding\u2014on any delinquent loan without first meeting with the borrower and making \u201cgood faith attempt\u201d to resolve the outstanding indebtedness.<\/p>\n
CDA has described the measure as \u201ca special interest legislation of the worst kind.\u201d It said the bill was passed \u201cbecause of the aggressive lobbying efforts of several high profile defaulted borrowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
CDA further said that the bill \u201cis illegal and unconstitutional\u201d as it will impair the obligations of contracts.<\/p>\n
The agency said that the measure would bankrupt the CDA, affect its relationships with federal agencies, lose its integrity, and kill upcoming economic development. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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