Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has ordered City Hall offices concerned to provide the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas or NBI-7 with documents they will need in their investigation of the alleged garbage plunder | CDN DIGITAL FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has ordered various City Hall offices concerned to provide the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) with the important documents it needs to complete its investigation of an alleged “garbage plunder” in the City.
In a statement, Rama said the NBI-7 has asked for relevant records dating from July to December 2021.
“It has been a year since we, in the City Council then, asked the NBI to probe the garbage anomaly, Now the Commission on Audit report about the garbage deal with DOCAST with JJ & J shows more handwritings on the wall,” Rama said.
DOCAST Construction is the private contractor managing the Barangay Inayawan transfer station.
Rama, when he was acting Cebu City Mayor in June 2021, noted the state of the city’s garbage disposal.
It can be recalled that the Cebu City Council began investigation of the garbage collection and expenses dilemma of the city government after the Department of Public Services (DPS) sought a supplemental budget of P100 million.
This request of the DPS was not granted by the council members, and it was not included in Supplemental Budget No. 1 (SB1), which was approved on July 28, 2021.
Instead, the City Council held a thorough investigation into the city’s waste costs over the previous weeks, which allowed them to inform the council of the special circumstances surrounding the Inayawan transfer station and the terms of the agreement between DOCAST and the local government.
READ: Rama to NBI, Ombudsman: Probe alleged ‘plunder’ on garbage management in Cebu City
The City Council has also asked the NBI and the Ombudsman to conduct a joint inquiry into allegations of theft or improper use of money for garbage collection and related charges.
DPS head Lawyer John Jigo Dacua, earlier, said that they would cooperate with any investigation.
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