Withdrawal of contractor delays repairs

CEBU, Philippines - The city government has been bombarded with complaints regarding potholes in the city’s streets, but the Department of Engineering and Public Works still cannot begin patching the holes because the asphalt bitumen has not been delivered.

The delay in the delivery of the bitumen is reportedly caused by the withdrawal of the first winning bidder, Philippine Asia Resources, from the agreement to supply the materials.

Reports have it that the company backed out from transacting with the city government because its president, Kasambagan barangay councilman Franklyn Ong, is an ally of Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña, the newest nemesis of Mayor Michael Rama.

 But City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said Phil Asia backed out merely for economic reason.

“They said that considering the huge increase in the price of materials since the time of the bidding, they could no longer serve the terms of the contract. When the P.O. was given to them, ni-beg off sila nga dili nila kaya,” Poblete said.

Poblete said the supplier might have also considered the aspect of the city government not exactly prompt in paying its dues.

Phil Asia started demanding from the city that the price of the bitumen be increased to P47,000 per metric ton from the original price of P43,000 per metric ton.

The city has budgeted P18.8 million or P45,000 per metric ton for the purchase of 418 tons of asphalt bitumen.

Prior to the bidding, Ong initially quoted a price of less than P40,000 per metric ton but during the actual bidding last February, where he turned out to be a lone bidder, he raised the price to P43,000 per metric ton.

Last April, Phil Asia informed the city that the price of bitumen by oil companies has increased to P47,000 per metric ton.

This could have meant an additional budget of more than P2 million for road patching and other road repairs, which will be undertaken by DEPW.

However, the demand did not sit well with the city government and the budget for repair materials was not increased.

Last month, Phil Asia finally informed the city that it is backing out of the agreement.

Due to the necessity of the bitumen to start the road maintenance, DEPW requested for an emergency purchase because repair works have to be started before the onset of the rainy season.

The Bids and Awards Committee approved the request to resort to emergency purchase so they canvassed at least three suppliers and awarded the contract for the purchase of 418 tons of bitumen from Evvolve Mktg. Corp.

Evolve Mktg. quoted the price of P42,500 based on the prevailing price of bitumen in the market.

Evvolve Mktg’s P42,500 per metric ton of bitumen is still lower than Phil Asia’s P47,000 per metric ton.

The city government is set to serve the notice of award within this week and is expecting that the contractor will deliver immediately. - (THE FREEMAN)