City Council authorizes Osmeña to sign contract with Pamocor

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has authorized Mayor Tomas Osmeña to enter and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Pasajero Motors Corp. (Pamocor) for the hauling of the city’s garbage from February to June this year amounting to P116 million.

This was after the City Council has approved the resolution sponsored by Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr., who heads the committee on public services.

In the MOA, Pamocor offered P1,248 tipping fee per ton of garbage.

Pamocor is obliged to provide “prompt, proper, and efficient” disposal of trash at the landfill. The city government also asked Pamocor to haul at least 650 tons of trash every day.

The city also asked the service provider to provide at least 15 trucks that have a capacity of 12 tons or more for the hauling operation and other five reserve trucks in case of breakdown.

However, during the executive session, opposition councilors have pointed out that the city government does not have an efficient way to countercheck the tons of trash being disposed at the private-owned landfill in Consolacion.

Since June 2016, the city government does not have an operational weighing scale.

With this, the Department of Public Services has deployed personnel at the private transfer station in Barangay Inayawan and in Consolacion to monitor the weighing operation pending for the procurement of brand new weighing scale.

Councilor Jose Daluz III questioned DPS assistant head John Paul Gelasque how “transparent” the Asian Energy System Corp. to the city knowing that the assigned city personnel were not allowed to enter the weighing premises.

Gelasque said that Asian Energy will give waste manifest that would detail how many tons of garbage disposed at the landfill which is the basis of the payment of the city government to the private hauler.

Gabuya said before the trucks leaves in the transfer station, DPS workers will make it sure that the trucks have a full load of trash.

But Daluz was not convinced with Gabuya’s statement, saying the city doesn’t have weighing equipment that would give the exact number of tons of garbage disposed in Consolacion.

Gelasque also informed the council that Pamocor also dumped the city’s generated trash at Aloguinsan landfill with the trucks passing by an electronic weighing bridge of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Minglanilla, Cebu.

“I think sa Aloguinsan is better kay moagi man sa weighing station sa DPWH which is an independent body,” Daluz said.

Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. questioned the DPS’ assurance that the weighing operation in Consolacion is transparent knowing that DPS personnel are not allowed to enter into the premises.

“We keep on dumping and we are not allowed to check? Is that what you mean transparent?” he said.

Gelasque said even with the previous administration, personnel assigned at Consolacion for check and balance purposes cannot enter the landfill premises.

At present, the city government does not have a direct contract with Consolacion.  The transaction is just between the private hauler and the private-owned landfill.

It was stipulated under the terms of reference that it was the responsibility of the service provider to look for a landfill which has an Environmental Compliance Certificate where the city’s generated trash will be disposed.

Gabuya said that the brand new weighing scale of the city will be installed at the controversial landfill in Inayawan in a few months.

“I will follow up the weighing scale kay mao rama’y kulang. We will just wait, dili nana madugay,” he said.

Last February, BAC has declared Albatech as the winning supplier for the procurement of new weighing scale.  Last year, the council set aside P2.5 million to purchase the said equipment. (FREEMAN)