Asphalt storm to go full blast

CEBU, Philippines - The road repair work projects of Cebu City will be going full blast in the next couple of weeks once the mayor signs the contracts with the various contractors taking part in the P100-million ‘Asphalt Storm’.

The council has already authorized Mayor Michael Rama to sign the contracts so that the contractors can proceed without any hitch.

Some contractors have, however, started work despite the absence of the contract.

In relation to this, the Cebu City Council Committee on Infrastructure has warned contractors to make sure that they state the exact quantity of materials used to avoid future problems with the Commission on Audit (COA).

The move of the committee came about when the members found discrepancies in some receipts submitted by a contractor, which did not indicate the weight of the empty haulers used to transport the paving materials.

Out of 20 receipts examined, five showed discrepancies which alarmed the committee.

The weight of the empty hauler must be indicated because it will be deducted to the weight of the truck when it is still loaded. The difference is the actual aggregate of the paving materials delivered from the plant and utilized at the site.

This practice, if overlooked, could have caused losses to the city government because the city would not know how much has been utilized by the contractor in the project.

Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias said that he was able to talk with the contractor, who explained that the weight of the hauler was not indicated because the driver did not return to the public weigher after the delivery of the materials.

Cabarrubias said that from the plant, the truck loaded with the paving materials goes to the public weigher then to the site to transport the materials. After it is emptied, the truck must go back to the public weigher to determine its weight when not loaded.

He said that he already warned the contractor to ensure that correct procedures are followed to avoid disallowance from the Commission on Audit.

Since they are able to discover the discrepancies early and able to recover the plate number of the trucks, they will still be able to get the exact computation.

Cabarrubias, who heads the infrastructure committee, said it is good that the contracts for the project is now with Mayor Michael Rama for signature, because no matter how he complains, the city has no legal hold on the contractor as there is no contract yet.

The city council last Wednesday authorized the mayor to sign the contract for the projects so they may finally send the notice to proceed.

The barangays where the streets to be asphalted are located are rushing the projects because they want it done before the onset of the rainy season.

The “asphalt storm” is part of the 2011 annual Budget. The contract is long overdue, because the notices of award were sent to the winning contractors last April 18 and they are supposed to receive the notice to proceed 10 days after that.

Earlier, COA questioned why some contractors have started implementing the projects without a formal contract.

There were two contractors, WTG Construction and Development Corp. and SOCOR Construction Corp. which started implementing the project “at risk”.

COA discouraged the practice because it is both disadvantageous to the city government and the contractor.

WTG has started with the Cluster 1 projects which cover the Tagunol Road, B, Aranas, T. Avila Street, Tres de Abril, Lakandula Street, A. Lopez Street, Punta Road to A. Borres Street which cost P29.307 million.

SOCOR has also started with Cluster 4 projects which include the streets from Lower Torralba and Talamban and Bacayan-Pit-os Road for a contract price of P20.529 million.

Cabarrubias said that SOCOR started in May 3 and about to finish on May 28 but still there is no contract.

The two other contractors chose to wait for the formal contract.

Cluster 3 projects include the streets of V. Gullas, F. Calderon, Panganiban and Junquera to Extension which will be undertaken by PLD Construction at a contract price of P25.937 million.

Cluster 2 projects include M. Aznar Road, Urgello Street, S. Cabahug Street, Tres Borces Street, Panagdait Street, Holy Name, Bonifacio Street and Zulueta Street, which will be undertaken by Cebu 7H Technochem at a contract price of P23.127 million.

The contractors that started the project ‘at risk’ could not put a billboard which indicates the details of the project because there is no contract yet. — /NLQ (FREEMAN)