‘Look into overpriced truck parts, not just budget cuts’

Before complaining about getting  a “small” budget, first address the “overpricing” of spare parts of Cebu City  garbage trucks.

This was Councilor Ritchie Osmeña’s advice yesterday to Dionisio Gualiza, Department of Public Services head.

Osmeña  said  an owner of a vehicle parts supply store was his source for saying garbage truck parts were overpriced.

He  refused to give more details and  instead urged Gualiza to look into the allegation.

“I have been made to believe that their spare parts are way overpriced.  And if engineer Gualiza is unaware of this, then he better start looking into  it  first before asking for a bigger budget or basin gamay na lang ilang ginansya (that is why he complains). Just asking, though,” he said.

Gualiza earlier lamented that the City Council only approved P199.7 million of the  P321.7-million budget that he proposed for this year.

He  said this means the city can’t proceed with plans to buy 20 six-wheeler garbage trucks for  the barangays and ten 10-wheeler trucks for the DPS, aside from pay for tipping fees for transporting the city’s trash  to Consolacion town.

Gualiza said the council only approved P4.7 million of an  P11-million outlay for truck maintenance so the DPWH can only do minor repairs.

Barangays would have to help defray the cost for major repairs of their garbage trucks.

DPS had a P9.6-million budget for this purpose last year.

The council also disapproved a requested P100-million outlay to buy new garbage trucks for the barangays and another P100 million for new garbage trucks for DPS.

Of the P57.5 million budget proposed for payment of tipping fees, the City Council  only approved P31.3 million.

Gualiza said DPS needed another P26.2 million to shoulder  tipping fee expense for the months of January to March.

He warned of a garbage crisis if the  fund shortage is not addressed.

“If indeed DPS needs the budget as they say they do, then they should defend and prove it and request it from the mayor,” said Councilor Osmeña.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district said it was wrong to accuse the council of “cutting” the DPS budget or even the executive budget as a whole.

He said the council only approved an amount that  it believes the administration is  capable of raising.