By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

SENATOR Judith Guthertz, D-Mangilao, is seeking the removal of any restrictive conditions that might impede the government’s borrowing plan and delay the payment of cost of living allowances to retirees.
Guthertz singled out a section in the proposed loan agreement which states that “all borrowings or public indebtedness of the government, in addition to the borrowing represented by the loan, do not exceed the 10 percent ceiling imposed by Section 11 of the Organic Act.”
The administration’s proposed $123.8 million loan agreement with the Bank of Guam-led consortium requires clearance from the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Administration, certifying that the deal doesn’t violate the debt limitation set by the Organic Act. The debt ceiling question involving bond borrowing is the issue now awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Guthertz said the debt ceiling term in the loan agreement, as contained in the governor’s Bill 23, appears to be legally tied to the Supreme Court decision.  
Such a provision, Guthertz said, prompts the question of whether “the borrowing of funds from a bank consortium is contingent upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the governor’s favor regarding the issue of the debt ceiling of the government of Guam.”
Guthertz wrote to Attorney General Alicia Limtiaco, seeking a legal opinion on the matter.
“Our elders have waited years for this matter to be resolved,” Guthertz said. “If legally, it is unnecessary to tie this matter to the pending U.S. Supreme Court case, then we should move forward and remove any restrictive sections in Bill 23 that may further delay the solution of this matter.”
The senator said since the transmittal of the governor’s bill to the Legislature, “my office has been inundated with telephone calls and visits by our island’s manamko’ who are among the many others who are entitled to monies based on the court order.”
Last week, Vice Speaker Eddie Calvo’s committee on revenue, finance and commerce heard Bill 23 which is now awaiting the panel’s action.
Sen. Ben Pangelinan, D-Barrigada, earlier suggested that the administration prepare an alternative option for payments of the $123 million COLA in the event that the high court issues a ruling on the bond borrowing case that would negate the loan agreement.
He suggests that the Department of Administration instead issue a negotiable promissory note that each retiree can sell to a bank or use as collateral.