Margot Osmeña’s action

This has reference to the column of Mr. Bobby Nalzaro entitled “Costly garbage disposal” dated Jan. 4, 2017.

May I respectfully comment on the following statement of Mr. Nalzaro, thus: “But if Rama’s setup was anomalous, why didn’t the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) stalwarts who dominated the council question it? And what did Councilor Margot Osmeña do? She should have been the first one to press the “alarm button.” Why was she mum on it? The anomaly claim only came when the ‘former political has-been’ took over after he won the May election.”

As the executive assistant of City Councilor Margarita V. Osmeña on her first and second terms, I feel that it is my duty to inform that there were several instances when Councilor Osmeña and the BOPK councilors questioned the “anomalous transaction” of the previous administration, especially on the payment of the P25 million in favor of the Asian Energy Systems Corp. even before Mayor Tommy Osmeña took over after he won the May election.

In one instance, on Feb. 18, 2015, a committee report was rendered by Councilor Osmeña, then chairperson of the committee on budget and finance regarding the audit observation memorandum of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the payment of garbage disposal services for the period from Oct. 1, 2013 to May 16, 2014 in the total amount of P25, 479,300. To quote the report, “The Committee noted that COA recommends that the City explain the basis of awarding the solid waste disposal services thru direct contracting when conditions required under Section 50 of RA No. 9184 did not apply to the existing conditions. To review the memorandum, the Cebu City Government disbursed the aggregate amount of P 25,479,300.00 for the payment of 36,399 tons of Solid Waste to Asian Energy Systems Corporation through direct contracting despite the availability of other landfill operators or its equivalent contrary to Section Nos. 50 and 3 of RA No 9184, thus the governing principle of transparency and competitiveness could not be attained.”

The committee requested for an explanation from the executive department but none came.

Councilor Alvin Arcilla also made a privilege speech questioning the request for additional budget of P50 million for tipping fee sometime in November 2015. BOPK councilors also scrutinized in several sessions the procurement of garbage disposal.

It is just unfortunate that when the BOPK councilors repeatedly questioned this and other transactions during the previous administration, they were just simply dismissed with statements like “ayaw mo pagbuot, pag-mayor usa mo.”

If the columnist wishes to verify my statements, the minutes of the Sangguniang Panlungsod is open for reference.--