City bares winning landfill bidder today

CEBU, Philippines – The Cebu City Hall’s bids and awards committee is set to open today the submitted sealed bids of the private investors who are interested in taking over the management of the city’s sanitary landfill in barangay Inayawan.

City administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, who also sits as the BAC chairman, said the city will immediately award the contract to the private investor who submitted the most favorable bid.

Fernandez promised to announce today the details of how the winning bidder will manage the dumpsite and how it will earn an income for managing the landfill.

The city has required that the entity that wants to manage the city’s sanitary landfill is willing to invest at least P150 million to maintain the dumpsite.

One of the major goals of the city why it wants the landfill be managed by private firm is to stop the foul smell from the garbage in the site. The concerns on how the odor will be eliminated have allegedly stalled the bidding process.

Most of the private investors have also complained about the P150-million required investment for a bidder to qualify for the bid because they believe that a budget of P30 million or P40 million is already enough for the project.

Mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña, who is still in Houston, Texas for the treatment of the cancer in his urinary bladder, has been very concerned about the still unsolved foul odor coming from the landfill, which is located near the South Road Properties that the city is now trying to sell to investors.

The mayor has even called up Fernandez to immediately do something to stop or to minimize the foul smell because it has allegedly already reached as far as the Sugbu Building, the administrative building of the SRP at Kawit Island.

Osmeña has decided to turn over the management of the sanitary landfill to a private entity hoping that its service will become effective. There are also plans to privatize the collection of the garbage in the city, which is already being practiced in other major cities in the country.

A city councilor said that after the contract for the management and operation of the landfill is awarded to the winning bidder today, he will propose the privatization of the collection and hauling of garbage hoping that it will increase efficiency and save expenses.

The privatization of garbage collection will allegedly increase the efficiency of garbage collection and disposal and will result to less maintenance cost for the city to maintain the garbage trucks.

“Daghan sa atong mga drayber sa garbage truck nga motuyo g’yod gani sa pagguba sa ilang sakyanan aron wala sila’y trabahoon og pirmi ang sweldo,” said Osmeña in a recent interview. — Rene U. Borromeo/WAB (THE FREEMAN)