What happened to the scrap metal and other building materials from the recently demolished Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) building?
Cebu City Councilor Sisinio Andales, in a privilege speech at the council’s regular session, said he wanted the Ombudsman Visayas and the city council to find out.
“I was very annoyed about the issue raised by (Sun.Star Cebu columnist) Atty. Elias Espinoza on the scrap materials from CCMC.
Someone sold it and profited from it. We should tell the people what happened to the scrap of CCMC,” Andales said.
Whereabouts
An executive session is scheduled on Dec. 4 with City Engr. Jose Marie Poblete, the Commission on Audit (COA) and columnist Espinoza invited to shed light on the matter.
In his column, Espinoza challenged Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to tell the public where the scrap materials went.
Espinoza wrote that an official told him that businessmen from Manila offered the mayor P2.5 million to allow them to demolish the old CCMC in exchange for keeping the scrap metal.
Sought for comment, Mayor Rama said he has no problem with an investigation.
He said Poblete and Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, as head of the ad hoc CCMC committee, can answer the questions.
“They (council) should also be mindful we are under PPDG (People Privately-Driven Governance),” he said, and that there may have been an agreement with a private firm about the demolition.
“I’m not afraid. They have been provided documents already by Mary Ann. I have no idea as to how, but I knew they are working it out at the beginning since it’s their mandate to take charge and document everything,” Rama said.
For her part, Delos Santos who heads the CCMC ad hoc committee said she is ready to explain to the council and that the issue had already been discussed before.
“It’s a rehash. There was already an executive session and the inventories were submitted. The condemnation of the building was done according to proper procedure and included the Commission on Audit (COA’s) approval and recommendation that the scrap materials have no salvage value,” delos Santos said.
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