Don’t waste supplies, school buildings

It’s a shame that despite the surplus of construction materials at the South Road Properties (SRP) of the Cebu City government, they can’t use them to repair school buildings that they contracted out to private construction companies in the past two years.

The recent order of cement found in the SRP has already overstocked the inventory of construction materials in the SRP, the city’s premier reclamation project. Yet City Hall hasn’t used it for whatever project they have in mind. Why?

Reports continue to emerge about the state of disrepair of school buildings particularly in mountain barangays of Toong and Sirao which are so dismal that school officials prefer to hold classes outdoors than risk the safety of students.

In lieu of repaired classrooms, Vice Mayor Joy Young said tents will be set up.

While studying under the shade of trees sounds rustic, the sentiment is wasted when one considers the heat, water puddles and the crazy weather whose sudden changes can affect even the sturdiest student.

Weathermen report that a little tropical storm called “Chedeng” may strengthen into a super-typhoon. While the brunt of the storm is expected to hit Luzon, Cebu and the rest of the country won’t come out dry with its arrival.

Which brings us to the question of how the city government managed to pick contractors in the first place and how City Hall will compel them to complete repairs of the building.

Zamboanga del Sur-based MDSLR, for example, made all sorts of promises and started initial repairs, but hasn’t submitted its report on the defects of the building that would pave the way for full repairs to the city and the Commission on Audit (COA).

Young, who as education consultant oversaw the implementation of the school buildings, has to play catch-up and justify the inadequacies of these structures which lack stairways and emergency exits.

The city government can sue these companies or ban them outright but legal cases would just be tied up in the courts ad infinitum.

There’s a good lesson here about vigilance but for the meantime, can the city government use the surplus materials to build schools or other useful structures?

It would be a waste of taxpayers funds to let the materials rust or crumble to dust in the SRP stockyard.