Expensive streetlights

The Cebu City Council has summoned to an executive session the City’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and the South Road Properties Management Office (SRPMO) to discuss what members believed as expensively priced street lighting system for the SRP.

This came after city councilors, during their regular session last week, said they find the street lights having “too expensive prices”.

In their session Wednesday last week, City Councilor Noel Wenceslao, chairman of the City Council Committee on Budget and Finance, moved for the approval of the resolution charging P19.97 million to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses under the Office of the City Administrator Account as payment to Quirante Construction Corporation for the SRP street lighting system project.

City Councilor Nestor Archival, Sr., however, objected, saying that the prices indicated for the items were “not correct” and were “too expensive”.

He said that upon his perusal of the documents, he found out that one street lighting with post and motion sensor costs P124,000 each which for him is “very expensive”.

Another item he pointed out as priced higher than usual is the 10-meter pole of 80 watts solar hotdip pole that costs about P49,769 each, and the four-meter pole for 50 watts that is too small to cost about P49,000 each.

“Mahal kaayo ni Mr. Chairman. So again, kung i-compare nimo ang ten-meter nga 80 watts nga hotdip pole its P49,769. Unya og mupalit ka og four-meter (pole) wa gani makatunga. This is four compared to ten, P49,730, so modeperensya lang og 39 pesos,” said Archival.

Aside from this, he said that the total of 122 street lights and the smart lighting system that is 168 are yet to be identified where they would be installed.

Further, Archival also highlighted the single-arm street light with one lamp is about P49,000 while the single-arm with two lights costs about P140,000 each.

“I am just trying to look into this; for me this are not the correct values or cost so I would like to object to this,” he said.

In line with this, Wenceslao amended his prior resolution and instead called to seek for an elaborated justification of each item in the proposed budget. The council then agreed on this motion.

The executive session will be conducted on May 8, 2024.

On its April 11, 2024 letter, the SRPMO laid down its justifications for the costings.

The letter, signed by Roberto Varquez, SRPMO executive director, said that the approved budget cost represents the combined value of several essential components.

“This includes not only the streetlights themselves, but also the poles, the construction of the pedestals upon which they will be mounted, and their complete Installation,” read the letter.

It further stated that the streetlights are equipped with a smart lighting system. This system accordingly allows for remote control of the lights via computer, phone, or any internet-connected device.

The letter also indicated that “such functionality enables features such as programming and adjusting light intensity; monitoring electricity consumption, energy savings and real time status and a precise location tracking through GPS coordinates”.

“The significant benefits of this smart system, combined with the construction and installation costs, contribute to the overall project value,” it further said.

Aside from this, the SRPMO also stated that the procurement of the streetlights underwent a “rigorous Competitive Bidding process” and in accordance with Section 34 of Republic Act No. 9184

“This section mandates awarding the contract to the bidder with the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB). Following this process, the project was awarded to a contractor with a final bid price of P19,969,888.00,” the SRPMO said.-