Pond A, landfill deal

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Council has requested the Office of the Mayor and the other concerned offices to submit a status report on the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Expedition Construction Corporation (ECC).

This came after a privilege speech by City Councilor Mary Ann Delos Santos during the council's regular session Wednesday last week, or exactly a week following the appearance of Mayor Michael Rama in its Oct. 4 session.

The council also approved the motion of City Councilor Nestor Archival for the creation of  an Ad Hoc Committee that would come up with recommendations regarding the JVA.

The committee would be headed by City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera (majority floor leader) with Archival (minority floor leader), City Councilor Noel Wenceslao (committee on budget and finance), City Councilor Rey Gealon (committee on laws, ordinances, and styling), and City Councilor Jerry Guardo (committee on infrastructure) as members.

The council likewise referred the JVA to the committee on laws and the committee on budget and finance for review.

The JVA was signed on Jan. 27, 2022, but the project has not started after over a year already.

Rama was invited to appear before the City Council last Oct. 4 to shed light on the signing of the JVA, which was for the development of Pond A of the South Road Properties (SRP) and the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

In that session, the mayor asked the council to "cure" the JVA for its alleged disadvantageous provisions.

"The goal was the development of Pond A of the SRP and the conversion of the Inayawan engineered sanitary landfill. It was spaced for future mixed use purposes. Yet today, we stand here with neither a truckload dump nor a ground level," delos Santos said during her privilege speech.

She said that although Rama has delivered his speech with "elements of personal charm, and rapport building" he appeared "evasive or unsatisfactory" because he was not direct on the specifics of the JVA.

"It failed to address the substantive concerns," delos Santos said.

She said that following the mayor's request that the city councilors read the JVA, she did and her concern over it grew.

"I browsed the contract, and found some issues worthy to be dissected, reviewed, which are  detrimental, disadvantageous to the City Government, which can be dealt or discussed in a proper forum with all stakeholders in attendance," delos Santos said.

"I am asking to read the contract, I need your intervention. I will repeat, I need your intervention.... You can also peruse, to go to the bottom,and be more transparent and accountable," she added, reiterating a portion of Rama's message during his Oct. 4 appearance.

Delos Santos further said that the mayor's statement puts into question the deliberation on some of the JVA's stipulations, that careful attention to details was bypassed in its crafting.

Aside from the Office of the Mayor, the City Council also requested the SRP Management office, Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office, Department of Engineering and Public Works to likewise submit a status report, which should be in within 14 days. /RHM (CEBU NEWS)