A P42.39-million wastewater challenge in Cebu Metropolis sparks pressure as Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia claims it, whereas former Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Nestor Archival insist it was years within the making.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A brewing political storm has erupted in Cebu Metropolis as former Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Nestor Archival lambasted Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia for allegedly claiming full credit score for the P42.39-million Kalunasan Wastewater Remedy challenge, a facility they insist was already within the works lengthy earlier than Garcia’s administration.
Garcia, who led the ceremonial groundbreaking on February 13, described the challenge as a long-overdue answer to persistent sanitation points stemming from untreated wastewater from the Cebu Metropolis Jail, the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Middle (CPDRC), and the Operation Second Probability facility.
“Nag-sige ko’g tan-aw, buhat ang pasultihon, dili sulti ang pabuhaton. Mao nay thrust sa akong administrasyon—much less speak, extra motion, and extra outcomes,” Garcia mentioned.
He added, “This challenge is lengthy overdue. Nothing occurred after I was a metropolis councilor, vice mayor, and now mayor. However God has plans, and now, after being put in as mayor eight months in the past, we’re lastly right here.”
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Rama: ‘Ipa-angkon nalang niya tanan’
Nonetheless, Rama didn’t maintain again, accusing Garcia of deception and dishonesty.
“Ipaangkon nalang na niya tanan, mura man siyag nakaangkon og administrasyon nga pretend man siya nga mayor. Tanan ipaangkon,” Rama advised CDN Digital on February 14.
“Ipaangkon niya tanan. Ah kuyawa ana niya, ipaangkon niya. Kapoy deal og tawo nga mentally dishonest. Ipaangkon nalang niya tanan. Pangutan-a si Nestor Archival kay naa miy funds ana, challenge na kaniadto sa konseho. Hambogero naman na siya [Garcia],” Rama mentioned.
Rama insisted that the wastewater therapy challenge funding was secured throughout his tenure and accused Garcia of opportunistically taking credit score for work that his predecessors had already laid out.
Years of complaints, investigations, and inaction
The long-standing sanitation disaster in Barangay Kalunasan dates again to not less than 2015 when Kalunasan residents and mass goers close to the Langub Shrine in Barangay Guadalupe complained in regards to the insufferable stench from untreated sewage discharged by the Cebu Metropolis Jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Middle (CPDRC).
In a CDN Digital report from 2019, lawyer Eugene Orbita, representing affected residents, filed a grievance with the Cebu Metropolis Council, alleging that wastewater from the jails was contaminating Kalunasan Creek.
This prompted Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to order an investigation by the Provincial Engineering Workplace (PEO) to find out whether or not the CPDRC or the Bureau of Jail Administration and Penology (BJMP) was accountable.
The CPDRC is managed by the Capitol, whereas the BJMP operates the Cebu Metropolis Jail.
In August 2019, the Cebu Metropolis Council declared Barangay Kalunasan below a state of calamity because of the recurring sewage disaster, permitting the town to allocate P19.5 million from catastrophe funds to deal with the scenario.
Fast interventions included buying two vacuum vans, every costing P8.44 million and declogging the septic tanks on the jails not less than twice per week for 4 months.
The Metropolis Council additionally fashioned a process pressure, chaired by Councilor Nestor Archival, to suggest each short-term and long-term options. Nonetheless, regardless of these efforts, the disaster continued.
Archival: ‘Dili na iya, dugay nana nga proyekto’
In the meantime, in a separate interview, Councilor Nestor Archival, an early proponent of the wastewater therapy challenge, backed Rama’s assertions and laid naked a collection of bureaucratic missteps that stalled the challenge for years.
“Ang wastewater facility, kahibaw ta nga there was a catastrophe sauna. In reality, naa nay decision declaring it a catastrophe space tungod sa baho ug contamination sa tubig. Si former metropolis authorized officer Eugene Orbita gyud ang ni-reklamo ani sauna,” Archival recounted.
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Archival revealed that he authored a decision tackling the sanitation disaster, resulting in the formation of a committee headed by Councilor Francis Esparis. Nonetheless, mismanagement and delays in crafting the challenge’s phrases of reference slowed progress to a crawl.
“Ang paghimo sa challenge kuti kay ang metropolis corridor ang naghimo sa phrases and reference, which is sakto kay kita man ang mogasto. Pero ang nahitabo, ang pondo nga P50 million sa sinugdanan nawala. Nahimo nang P100 million, pero naproblema pagbalik kay ang laing P50 million kay nawagtang napod,” Archival revealed.
He identified that poor record-keeping and a excessive turnover of division heads led to essential paperwork being misplaced, additional delaying the Kalunasan wastewater therapy challenge.
“Walay correct storing ug turn-over sa mga dokumento, mao nga magbalik-balik lang ang proseso. Usa na ka dakong problema sa metropolis corridor,” he added.
Who deserves the credit score?
Each Rama and Archival insisted that the true architects of the wastewater therapy challenge have been the earlier administrations, slamming Garcia for allegedly whitewashing historical past and conveniently erasing the efforts of those that fought for the challenge’s realization.
“Ang naghimo gyud ana, ako ug si Mike Rama. Discovering the funds, throughout the time of Mike Rama kay ako could proponent ana. Karon, dawat siya’g limpyo unya angkunon niya ang challenge,” Archival asserted.
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