City Engineer Jose Marie Poblete huddles with Councilors Margot Osmena and Mary Ann Delos Santos during the City Council hearing on the CCMC demolition. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Poblete said the contractor, Manila-based JLC Construction, took possession of the scraps as compensation from the city for undertaking the demolition at no cost to the city.
THE scrap materials from the old Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) building went to the private contractor who helped the city government with the hospital’s demolition.
City Engineer Jose Marie Poblete confirmed this during an executive session with the Cebu City Council who wanted to know what happened to the scrap materials of the CCMC.
Poblete said the contractor, Manila-based JLC Construction, took possession of the scraps as compensation from the city for undertaking the demolition at no cost to the city.
He said it is an “industry practice” that contractors get the scraps from demolished buildings.
“We should take an exception on this case since the contractor didn’t come for profit but to help the city,” Poblete told the council.
Disposal
Based on a budgetary cost for demolition prepared by JLC General Manager Dan Jimenez that was sent to Poblete, the total equipment and manpower cost for the demolition job was P5,797,478.87.
The contractor said the supply of labor, equipment and other miscellaneous materials to complete the demolition including hauling and disposal of debris and waste materials totaled P7,659,518.87.
The contractor also recovered P1,862,040 worth of scraps from the demolition job.
The scrap materials include deformed bars, window grille and wires worth P1,541,700 and light recovery materials such as plywood, scrap wood and roofing sheets worth P320,340.
Other councilors said they should not harass the contractor since they helped the city with the demolition.
Transparency
“We can’t disregard the benevolence of the contractor who lent their equipment. What they recovered was way below the cost of the demolition,” Councilor James Anthony Cuenco said.
Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. also wants a representative from the contractor to visit the council so he can give a “plaque of recognition” to them for helping the city.
But Councilor Sisinio Andales, who called for the executive session was not convinced.
“Can we ask for a receipt from the contractor? And where are the scraps exactly now? We need a confirmation from the contractor and an admission on their part. That’s the gist of this session, to know who’s in custody of the scraps,” he said.
While he said he has no intention of recovering the scraps from the contractor, Andales said he still wants to know where the scraps are exactly now for “transparency.”
He said if the Commission on Audit (COA) requires the city to recover the scraps, then the city will be forced to do so.
Councilor Nida Cabrera is also asking the COA for an opinion and report on the guidelines of disposing government properties recovered after demolition.