No trucks yet to remove septic wastes from Kalunasan jail facilities

The Cebu City Council calls on the city’s Bids and Awards Committee to hasten the purchase of induction trucks for Barangay Kalunasan during the January 15, 2020 regular session. | CDND Photo/ Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — It has been five months since Barangay Kalunasan was placed under a state of calamity due to the foul smell emanating from the septic tanks of the jail facilities located in the village.

But up until Wednesday, January 15, the inductor trucks with suctions pumps, which were supposed to be used to collect the wastes from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) and Cebu City Jail, are yet to be purchased.

The Cebu City Council has allotted P19.5 million to find solutions to the foul smell emanating from the two detention centers.

In August 2019, Councilor Nestor Archival, chairman of the council’s Task Force Kalunasan, said a portion of the amount will be used to buy suction machines, septic trucks, and septic tanks to collect the human wastes from CPDRC and Cebu City Jail.

READ: P19.5-M to solve Kalunasan’s foul smell issue

Task Force Kalunasan is a group of council members that handles the foul smell issue in Kalunasan, which has raised health concerns among the residents of the villages.

This is why the Cebu City Council is urging the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to hasten the purchase of two inductor trucks with suction pumps during the Citizen’s Hour of the regular session on Wednesday, January 15.

Archival raised the five-month delay in the purchase of the trucks during the Citizen’s Hour of the council’s regular session.

Archival said the delay is inexcusable since the resolution of the Council on August 2019, or at least five months ago, was for the purpose of the emergency purchase of the trucks.

Barangay Kalunasan was placed under a state of calamity on August 15, 2019.

“What is the reason for the delay? The purchase should have been an emergency purchase. What can we do to make this faster? Our people are suffering,” said Archival.

BAC chairperson Lawyer June Maratas, who appeared before the council, said the process took time because they could not bypass the bidding procedures or else they would violate the rules of the Commission on Audit (COA).

While the council’s resolution was approved in August 2019, the request only reached the BAC on November 6, 2019.

Maratas said the technical working group reviewed the request on November 19, 2020.

The pre-bidding was done on December 7, 2019, while the first bidding was conducted on January 7, 2020.

“The first bidding was a failure because no one bought bidding documents,” said Maratas.

The “failure” meant that the BAC would need to rebid the two trucks.

The next bidding is scheduled on January 21, 2020.

If the bidding is deemed as a failure again, the BAC may enter into negotiated procurement where the BAC seeks for distributors of the trucks and they will be able to negotiate the price.

The process may take two months more until the actual delivery of the trucks.

Maratas’ explanation did not sit well with the council members, who emphasized that the situation in Kalunasan is an urgent matter.

Councilor Antonio Cuenco said the process was “absurd” and the BAC should immediately go into negotiated procurement because a failure in the first bidding would most likely result in another failure in the second bidding.

“In this case, there is no improvement in Kalunasan. It is even worse,” said Cuenco.

With the extended delay, the City Council decided to hire third-party haulers to collect the wastes from the two prisons.

Lawyer John Jigo Dacua, head of the Department of Public Services (DPS), said they currently employ third party haulers to collect the wastes while the trucks are still not available.

Dacua said they can extend the contract for two months, or until March 2020, as funds are still available for the haulers.

On August 2019, the Council allotted P480,000 for immediate release to hire third-party haulers to collect the septic wastes.

The Council agreed to extend the contract for the waste hauling for the next two months and asked the BAC to update them not he purchase of the inductor trucks.

Archival said he hoped that the foul smell in Kalunasan would be resolved by March 2020. / celr