Investigate the privatization of garbage collection

Compared to today, there were fewer garbage trucks owned by the city when Ordinance 1295 was written in the year 1988. The available units then were rather old although still made remarkably serviceable. I recall pushing the then new city administration to acquire new compactors. Unlike the present times, there were no such equipment owned by the barangays. In fact, I remember of no barrio unit to be operating and maintaining any garbage truck. So, only the city government employing its own manpower and using its own equipment was collecting about 160-200 tons of trash daily. In spite of the efforts of the city to accomplish a herculean task, there were sporadic complaints from the citizenry of inefficient service.

I am making those statements above in an attempt to understand the current scene of our city in so far as solid waste management is concerned. Few days ago, the city was on the brink of a crisis. Social media pointed to uncollected garbage that littered even in areas which are usually waste-free. Oh my goodness. For a while i thought that the sights of piled trash were as bad as those can be seen in some areas of Cairo in Egypt. Taking the cue, our city councilors observed the presence of trash almost everywhere. It looked like our garbage collectors did not make their usual rounds. The seeming explanation was that the dump trucks that were used in garbage collection were reported unable to unload their waste cargo. There was even a video of about fifty of such vehicles, filled with garbage already lining up and waiting to unload. This was at the Inayawan landfill which, because it was ordered closed for reported non-compliance of environmental laws, was made as transfer station.

In the subsequent exchange of thoughts, both public and private, what surfaced was that the garbage collection of the city has been privatized. It is something new, something not known to most Cebuanos. But, regularity in the performance of official duties being a legal l assumption, I would just want to think that the city council earlier amended or repealed Ordinance 1295 to allow the city to enter into a contract with a private entity to collect our garbage. In any case, those interested to help our city to find ways to solve this waste disposal problem, they should investigate this angle first.

It is reported that the private contractor claimed that it owns a fleet of 50 garbage trucks. Or so this was written into the contract that i have yet to read. To me, such number of garbage vehicles could be sufficient to do the job. My stint with the sanggunian thirty years ago, is enough to hold such view. But, what puzzled our city councilors was their observation that the dump trucks owned by the city and the barangays are still being used in spite of the contract with a private party! If I may paraphrase the collective thoughts of our city aldermen they would have rumbled in unison, “why pay the private contractor for garbage collection done by the city and barangays?”

I hope that Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella takes a direct hand to investigate first why the garbage collection was privatized in spite of the adequate manpower, equipment and tools, second, if the private contractor committed fraud in making contractual stipulations and third, if indeed the garbage collections were done by the city and barangay yet the private contractor billed the city and the latter paid.