Council asks Ombuds:probe contract for city's garbage truck rentals

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council yesterday requested the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to investigate the alleged disadvantageous contract that Mayor Michael Rama had entered into with a private hauling company to transport to Consolacion town the tons of garbage generated in the city.

Councilor Nida Cabrera, chairperson of the City Council’s committee on environment, also convinced her fellow legislators to approve her resolution requesting the mayor to change the mode of payment for the leased dump trucks and other heavy equipment so it will not be disadvantageous to City Hall.

At present, the City has a contract with the Armed Builders and Supply for the latter to supply the City with 15 dump trucks, a backhoe and payloader that will be used to haul the tons of garbage from the city’s transfer station to the private landfill in Barangay Tulo-Tulo, Consolacion.

Based on the contract, the City would pay for the use of each of the dump trucks and the heavy equipment on a daily basis. But Cabrera is now pushing for the contract to be amended so the payment will be made on a “per trip” basis.

Rama, who was in Manila yesterday, told The FREEMAN that he will not oppose the proposal if he finds that it will be advantageous to the city.

Cabrera’s move yesterday was in reaction to the report of Engr. Randy Navarro, head of the Ina-yawan Sanitary Landfill, that about 60 percent of the total volume of garbage generated in the city everyday still ends up at Inayawan despite the announcement of the mayor that the landfill will no longer accept garbage.

Navarro said while the city leased 15 dump trucks, the supplier was able to supply only 10 garbage trucks to transport the garbage to Consolacion. This means that of the average 325 tons of garbage generated in the city everyday, each truck is required to have at least nine trips.

However, some factors like the distance of Consolacion from Cebu City, which is 13 kilometers, and the truck ban that Mandaue City imposes, each of the leased garbage truck accomplished only three trips so about 60 percent of the garbage still remain in Inayawan.

“Despite the less frequency of trips, the Armed Builders and Supply is still paid on a daily basis charged to the P24 million that was allocated by the city for a one-year lease of equipment,” Cabrera said.

The city already spent more than P10 million for the rentals of the garbage trucks.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Council yesterday criticized Rama for implementing various infrastructure projects in different places of the city without first securing authority from the legislative department.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young also said it is “very risky” for contractors to undertake the projects even without proper documents.

Although Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias is an ally of the Bando Osmeña Pundok-Kauswagan (BOPK), the political organization of the majority of the councilors, his proposed resolutions were not approved right away in yesterday’s session.

It was Cabarrubias who presented the resolutions authorizing the mayor to sign into contracts with different contractors because he is the chairman of the City Council’s committee on infrastructure.

The City Council yesterday authorized the mayor to sign into contracts with the private contractors who undertake the eight infrastructure projects worth P20.7 million situated mostly in the mountain barangays.

Among the projects was the P10.9 million concreting of roads at the North Reclamation Area (NRA) done by Dakay Construction and Development Corporation that will be charged against the Annual Budget 2011.

Councilor Alvin Dizon described it as another abuse of power by the executive department. The right procedure is that the contractor who wins the bidding should only start implementing the work after the executive department issues the Notice to Commence the Project.

But the local chief executive should not issue the Notice to Commence the Project unless he already signed the contract with the contractors upon the authority given to him by the legislative department. —JPM (FREEMAN)