Trucks, surplus or brand new? Cebu leaders stay divided

Cebu City officials have different views on the city government’s purchase of dump trucks.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the trucks are brand new while Cebu City Transportation Commission chief Rene Plarisan insisted that these are assembled knockdown surplus parts.

The Cebu City Council last December approved some P17.5 million for the purchase of five units of Hino dump trucks from Pasajero Motors Corp. at P3.5 million each.

Three trucks were recently delivered from Japan and are now parked at the CCTC garage at the North Reclamation Area. They will be used by the Department of Public Services for garbage collection. Two more will be coming soon.

Plarisan, who has been an engineer by profession for 17 years, had apprehensions that some truck parts might break down once the truck is made to carry heavy loads.

The only brand new part of the truck was the cab and loader, Plarisan said.

But the mayor downplayed fears on the possible risks entailed in using the dump trucks considering that its parts are locally welded.

"We are not using these in car racing or in the desert," Osmeña told reporters. — Freeman News Service