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City council stops private firm from hauling trash: Baguio officials at loggerheads over garbage-hauling contract

By Dexter A see and Mike Guimbatan Jr.

BAGUIO CITY – The bickering among city officials over the garbage crisis in this mountain resort city is not helping them in the efforts to find a long-term solution to the problem. In fact, the quarrel is aggravating the situation to the prejudice of the residents.

This developed as the hauling of garbage in the city by a private firm, Metro Water Management Corp., has been disallowed for lack of authority from the city council.

Instead, the city’s legislative body decided to appropriate P10 million for the hauling of the city’s garbage that has piled up in the streets for one week now.

The council also decided that the hauling contract will be bidded out.

The councilors have failed to designate a dumping area for the garbage. And as a result of the council’s action, the private hauler is now at risk of not being paid for its services.

The mayor signed the contract with the private hauler without the authority of the council, one councilor said. The mayor should have first referred the contract to the council because it involves the appropriation of funds, the same councilor said.

Councilors were given the impression that Metro Waste is the only accredited hauler, but it turned out that the accreditation of haulers is only for the transport of toxic waste.

If the council decides to appropriate funds for the payment of the hauler without going through competitive bidding, councilors said they would be liable for graft and technical malversation.

While the city officials are locked in a controversy over the funding issue, tons and tons of garbage continue to pile up in the streets.

Due to the unsanitary condition, many tourists are now skipping the city.

The council had turned down plans of the mayor to charge the hauling expenses against the calamity fund as it denied a proposal to place the city under a state of calamity.

But the hauling cost would instead be charged against other kinds of funds of the city government.

Earlier, there were proposals that the garbage collected daily would be dumped temporarily at the lime kiln in Irisan, but this was scrapped down because the area is heavily populated.

At the time that the city was scouting for an area where to dump garbage loaded in the city’s dump trucks, the lime kiln was identified as a transfer station, but the residents barricaded the area. This prevented the dumping of the garbage at the lime kiln site.

Meanwhile, three committees were formed to negotiate with groups that offered to help the city in providing temporary relief.

One of the committees chaired by Councilor Erdolfo Balajadia is tasked to meet with executives of Camp John Hay. The second committee chaired by Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr. is to meet with officials of Philippine Military Academy.

The task to look for a longer-term solution was assigned to a committee chaired by Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda. It is asked to meet with the Carantes family regarding a 10-hectare land the family had offered to sell in Virac, Itogon, Benguet.