City dads to look into fund source

CEBU, Philippines - The implementation of two road concreting projects at the North Reclamation Area (NRA) has been deferred by the Cebu City Council after it was found out that the P33.8 million that will be spent for such would be taken from the funds that are intended for mountain road projects.

The City Council headed by Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young has decided to hold an executive session this morning where City Engineer Kenneth Enriquez, Budget Officer Nelfa Briones and City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete have been invited to appear in order to shed light into the matter.

Councilor Roberto “Bob” Cabarrubias asked his fellow city legislators to authorize Mayor Michael Rama to sign into contracts with GOWL Builders for the P18,069,537 road concreting project of the Third Avenue, North Reclamation Area, and for another P15,818,322 road concreting contract with WTG Construction for the J.L. Briones Street.

In his proposed resolution, Cabarrubias said the two contractors were the lowest bidders that prompted the City Hall Bids and Awards Committee to award the projects to them.

The records show that there were 18 contractors, which participated the bid for the concreting project of NRA’s Third Avenue while 16 contractors also submitted the bidding for the concreting project of J.L. Briones Street.

The city legislators observed that based on the supporting documents for the projects, the source of funds shall be taken from the P100 million intended for the road concreting in mountain barangays.

Councilor Alvin Arcilla said it was earlier agreed last year that the P50 million will be spent for the concreting of roads in the North District mountain barangays and the P50 million for the South District.

“Ang gikasabutan gud nga ang concreting adto ra g’yud na sa mga mountain barangays apan karon nahibulong mi kay gusto man nila nga gamiton sa pagpasemento sa karsada dinhi sa downtown area,” said Arcilla.

The executive session will be conducted today in order to clarify the matter and for the concerned to explain why the amount will be used in the city’s urban barangays.

The FREEMAN contacted Cabarrubias yesterday for additional details of these projects, but he could not be reached. Rama had decided to prioritize the concreting of roads within the North Reclamation Area (NRA), because these were not attended during the previous administration. — /NLQ (FREEMAN)