CH to spend additional P25.2M for trash

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government is bidding out P25.2 million garbage collection contract on top of the P190 million for garbage hauling and disposal.

Engr. Joel Biton, head of the Department of Public Services, said the city needs to hire the services of a private firm to collect the garbage from the streets and transport to the transfer station in Barangay Inayawan.

“Lahi ning P25.2 million sa P190 million nga i-bidding pa pod. Ang kining P25 million is for collection kay kulang atong sakyanan for collection sa garbage,” Biton said.

He said the city has only 13 trucks available for garbage collection. Biton said these are not enough to efficiently collect the garbage. According to him, the city has two options—to purchase garbage trucks and to engage the services of a private company.

The previous administration allocated P232-million for the purchase of 21 compactor trucks. However, the new administration decided to review the contract previously awarded to Hino Motors.

Biton said that pending the review of the contract, the city government needs to engage the services of a private firm to ensure the cleanliness of the city.

He said the P25.2 million for garbage collection will be taken from the budget of DPS this year.

“Padayon pa atong collection gyud karon while wala pa ang service provider kay i-schedule pa ang public bidding this month,” he said.

A total of P201.3 million has been allocated by the city for garbage collection this year. Another P64.5 million was earmarked for rental of garbage trucks, and P232.5 million for the purchase of compactor trucks.

Recently, the City Council approved P190.3 million additional budget for the garbage hauling and disposal from September to December this year. The budget will be used to hire the services of two private firms to haul the garbage from the transfer station and dispose it to any legitimate landfill.

Under the terms of reference, the city will pay P1,400 per ton for the hauling while P1,298 per ton for the disposal. The bidding is yet to be scheduled by the Bids and Awards Committee. (FREEMAN)