Councilor Osmeña orders BAC to Review other Projects that Skipped Council Approval

The office of the Cebu City Council’s committee on budget and finance had asked the City Hall’s Bid and Awards Committee (BAC) to provide a list of the contractors who won the bids for the 46 different infrastructure projects to be implemented in the city.

Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, head of the finance and budget committee, had asked BAC Chairman Rafael Christopher Yap to inform her on what specific projects that does not have authority from the City Council, but still the contractor has been issued already with notices to proceed with the project.

It was Osmeña, whose husband Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas R. Osmeña has challenged the reelection bid of Rama, who questioned Rama’s move for entering into contracts with different private contractors for projects even without the City Council’s authority.

Among the projects questioned by Osmeña are the P167 million project for the reconstruction of the Carbon Market Unit 2 building and the P50.4 million Clearing and Embankment intended for a 2.2 kilometer road project at the South Road Properties.

In last Wednesday’s session of the City Council, the city legislators had asked the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to look into the legality of Rama’s actuation for entering into contracts with private contractors even without authority from the City Council.

Osmeña said while the mayor, under Section 455 of the Local Government Code, is allowed to sign contracts on behalf of the Local Government Units that they represented, it is very clear that they need the authority of the City Council.

Among the infrastructure projects listed for biddings, Osmeña wanted to know whether BAC had already issued with notice to proceed includes the P6.9 million construction of Inayawan Market 1 and 2; the P7.9 million construction of single span bridge in Barangay Buot-Taup, P5.1 million construction of Taptap Barangay Hall, and several other
projects like drainage, road improvements and constructions of school buildings and other projects.

Councilor Jose Daluz III, one of the mayor’s allies in the City Council, argued that the authority from the City Council is no longer necessary for some of the projects because it was indicated already in the annual budget on where the amount will be spent.

But Osmeña said there is a Supreme Court ruling that provides that if the funds needed for the project will be charged against lump sum budget the authority of the City Council should be secured first before the project will be subjected to bidding.