Pasay City OKs new garbage contracts

Acting Pasay City Mayor Allan Panaligan recently approved four garbage disposal contracts covering 201 barangays in the city at a cost lower than the previous waste management deal entered into by suspended Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad.

Panaligan said the four new contracts they signed with R.M. Maintenance Services, Halrey Construction, Inc. and Greenline Onyx Envirotech Phils., Inc., would cost the city P177,960,326.70 for 2007.

Halrey Construction won the award for trash collection and disposal in 60 barangays in Area 4 for P62,243,250.20. The same company also won the contract for Area 1, covering 32 barangays, for P25 million.

Greenline Onyx, which will collect garbage in 74 barangays in Area 3, won the contract at P62,248,548. R.M. Maintenance Services would have jurisdiction over 35 barangays in Area 2 for a total contract price of P28,468,528.50.

These waste disposal contracts reportedly differ with the one entered into by suspended mayor Trinidad which cost taxpayers P278 million annually.

The three new contracts were signed by Panaligan as acting mayor, Ma. Marilou Baltazar for the R. M. Maintenance Services, Anthony Gerard Halili for Halrey Construction, and Alexander Tantoco for Greenline Onyx.

Previous waste disposal contracts executed by the Pasay City government with other companies were also scrutinized by the Commission on Audit and even by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Both agencies found irregularities in those contracts and recommended reforms in the bidding and awards process.

Certain anomalous provisions of the previous contract led to the suspension of Mayor Trinidad last September 1, 2006, along with Vice Mayor Antonio Calixto and 10 councilors who approved the contracts. – Rhodina Villanueva