Osmeña prefers leasing garbage trucks vs buying

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will push through with his plan to lease trucks to be used for garbage collection rather than buying new ones, saying the city government can save more money this way.

Barug Team Rama Councilor Eduardo Rama along with other councilors had earlier suggested that it is better to buy new garbage trucks or enter into a contract with the Asian Energy System Corporation landfill at Consolacion, believing the city will spend less to this scheme.

“Are we going to commit his (Rama’s) mistakes? He said it went through proper bidding… Except when the bidding comes in, there’s only one bidder. How proper can it be,” Osmeña said.

In the previous administration, Rama was the head of “Gubat sa Basura” program. Rama had also earlier denied the allegation of Osmeña over “dubious” purchase transactions of garbage trucks.

“Several bidders participated the bidding and if you compare, the previous wala’y gipalabwan. During the time of Mike Rama everyone was invited, even political rival Franklyn Ong joined the bidding,” Rama earlier said.

During the budget hearing last week for the proposed supplemental budget of the Department of Public Services (DPS) on the rental of heavy equipment amounting to P56 million, Rama suggested the possibility to enter into a contract with the landfill in Consolacion as north district barangays only paid P700 per ton of garbage dump at the said landfill during the previous administration.

Osmeña then justified that through leasing equipment the only role of the city will be to pay the fixed amount of the rental cost of P850 per hour as well as the fuel allocation.

“We only shoulder the gasoline because we can control the gasoline, these trucks will be used solely by Cebu City and we can monitor its daily consumption,” he said.

With the proposed supplemental budget for the rental, the city is expected to lease at least 10 garbage trucks and five open dump trucks.

“We don’t have to worry on the maintenance, when the trucks break down we ask for supplemental to buy this and that, no more na,” he said.

He said the supplier has to make sure to have reserve trucks so that when one breaks down, they have a replacement ready to ensure continuous operations.

On the suggestion of Rama-allied councilors to enter into a contract with the private-owned landfill in Consolacion for the North District barangays, Osmeña said, “Our trucks are having a hard time going to Consolacion directly, it’s too small, so much will entail.”

DPS had earlier explained that during the previous administration, a number of equipment bogged down because the road in Consolacion going to the landfill is not good.