COA questions Cebu City Hall on asphalting services

Why did Cebu City Hall hire private entities to procure and mix asphalt when the city has its own asphalt batching plant?

The Commission on Audit (COA) posed this question in their audit observation memorandum dated last January 26.

It also questioned the P61.1 million worth of paving and retreading activities in city streets which are not covered by programs of works, inspection reports and inventories.

COA said this violated Presidential Decree No. 1445 which states that claims against government funds shall be supported with complete documentation and COA Circular No. 2012-003.

“We recommend that management avail the services of its own batching plant to avoid the hassle of the bidding process, cost of advertisement, and incur savings in terms of man-hours, manpower and government funds by utilizing its own resources,” COA said.

They also asked City Hall to submit the documentation for their paving and retreading works on city streets.

Operational
In its official reply to COA, the city government said it had to stop using its batching plant in May 2013 when it underwent repairs. The asphalt batching plant had been operating since 1999.

“The batching plant was operational only in June 2014. As soon as the batching plant became operational, a purchase request for materials to prepare asphalt mix such as bitumol and concrete aggregates was prepared and processed,” Mayor Michael Rama told COA.

Since there were road maintenance and repairs that needed immediate attention, the city had to procure pre-mixed asphalt from private suppliers while the plant was being repaired, Rama said.

Rama also belied COA’s observation that they incurred unnecessary maintenance and manpower cost at the batching plant.

He said the people assigned to work at the batching plant were temporarily assigned to other tasks except for those guarding the plant site.

He said patching works can’t be based on existing road status and inventory because the city’s Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) received a lower budget than what they asked for.