Secretary to the Mayor Goldwyn Nifras yesterday said the Bacolod City government has strictly complied with the requirement of the law in the procurement of equipments.

This was his reaction to a paid advertisement in a local daily, not the DAILY STAR, that was sent by a certain “Danilo Javier” and family claiming that there was an alleged overprice in the purchase of 10 reconditioned Isuzu Elf/Fuso Canter Mini Dump trucks.

Nifras said the equipments the city is procuring are “brand new” and not reconditioned vehicles as claimed by “Javier”. The allegations of “Javier” are all lies and are misinformation, he said.

Nifras also said there is no overpricing in the procurement of the 10 mini dump trucks since the P9 million is only the approved budget for the contract. He said they expect the price to be lower because of competitive bidding. The dump trucks purchased by local governments, which was cited by “Javier” in his letter, are reconditioned units, he added.

Nifras invited “Javier” to show up if he really exists. Many of his claims are false and these appear to be propaganda designed to mislead the people, he said.

It is hard to tell if he really is sincere in helping the government, Nifras said. If he is really sincere he can write the Mayor directly so the latter can clarify matters to him. He said they are also willing to provide him the documents he needs.

Nifras said he is beginning to question “Javier's” motive.

In his open letter, “Javier” claimed the city entered into contract last July 16, 2007 for the rental of a barge mounted backhoe for 120 days for the dredging of the Banago-Bata Creek with an approved budgetary contract of P7,680,000.

He said he is questioning why the Mayor persisted on awarding the rental contract to the contractor knowing fully well that the dredging work cannot proceed due to the presence of squatters. He also claimed that the bidding for the rental of the equipment was discretely done and was never published in the newspaper.

Nifras said the Bids and Awards Committee of Bacolod followed strictly the provisions of R.A. 9184 in the procurement of equipment. The bidding was published in a national paper and in the website, he said. They also conducted a pre-bid conference, he added.

Nifras said the decision to lease an excavator was made upon the suggestion and recommendation of the different sectors consulted by the city after the flashflood in December 2006.

There was a mention of a barge mounted excavator owned by the province which according to engineer Ernie Mapa of the Provincial Engineer's Office could not be available until October, Nifras said. So they conducted a public bidding for the lease of the equipment before the rains come and one contractor (Celcor) won after the two other contractors decided to withdraw, he said.

Acting City Engineer Belly Aguillon said the rental was part of the P10 million release of the city which was taken from the calamity fund appropriated by the SP for the dredging of the Banago Creek and Mandalagan River . But when the resolution came out the election ban started, she said. The budget was released in May and the dredging started in August.

Aguillon said the dredging stopped middle of October because of the presence of squatters.

Project Engineer Joel Locsin said the 7,680,000 went to labor and equipment rental while the remaining P2 million is for fuel, oil and lubricants.

Locsin said the contractor had to recondition the equipment in October after two months of operation and assured that the city that they could finish the work on time.

Nifras said flooding has many causes and needs several strategies to solve. Dredging is just one of the strategies that we can employ to ease the problem, he said. We need to clean up, educate people not to live along waterways and on the proper disposal of garbage, build additional drainage system, among others, he added.

Meanwhile, the dredging operation in Purok Mahimulaton in Brgy. Banago is ongoing while the Kimara Association area is still being prepared by the city for the relocation of squatters.*CGS

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