Friday, July 06, 2007 Tomas cuts off fuel for trucks of 2 barangays
AFTER withholding the fuel allocation for Barangay Lahug’s garbage truck, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is doing it this time to Barangays Sambag I and Poblacion Pardo.
The mayor stopped giving gasoline for Sambag I’s school bus and refused Poblacion Pardo’s request for its newly bought dump truck used as garbage truck.
Like Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos, Poblacion Pardo’s Danilo Lim also ran but lost to the Bando Osme-ña-Pundok Kauswagan in the last elections.
Although Sambag I Barangay Captain Jerry Guardo is not allied with the opposition, he is the brother of sports patron Jonathan Guardo, who openly criticized Osmeña and ran against BOPK’s reelected south district Rep. Antonio Cuenco.
“The bus picked up people in going to the beach in Minglanilla during the campaign. Even the mayor does not do that,” Osmeña said yesterday.
He intercepted the school bus right in front of his house on its way to Minglanilla before the elections.
He did not cite any reason for refusing Poblacion Pardo’s request, but it was upon the recommendation of former city councilor George Rama.
Rama is the mayor’s consultant for public services and is in charge of City projects for the south district.
In an interview, Jerry said anybody could rent the bus for a fee.
He knew the mayor intercepted the bus but said it’s the chief executive who calls the shots.
Jerry also said it is Osmeña’s prerogative to suspend the fuel allocation but he hopes the mayor would reconsider “for the interest of the public.”
In a separate interview, Lim said the barangay will no longer collect garbage from the Pardo Public Market and along the highway.
While vendors pay garbage fees to the City and the barangay collects the waste, he said the City has not acted on the request he made last February yet.
“Akong letter Feb. 27 pa to tua sa office ni Tomas. Before election nako gipadala aron dili masagulan og pulitika. Pirma na lang unta niya ang kulang (I sent my letter before the elections to keep it from getting tangled in politics. Only his signature is missing),” he said. He also criticized his barangay councilors who turned their backs on him and defected to BOPK.
“I scolded them. They left me and defected to BOPK so they can get projects from the City Hall and where are these now?” he said, adding that he enjoys political backing from no one and relies on his people’s trust.
Since the City Government is not giving any fuel for their truck, he said that the City Department of Public Services should double its effort in collecting garbage from the market and along the highway.
The Pardo Public Market was adjudged one of the country’s model markets last year.
Lim said the barangay will just find ways to get fuel for the garbage truck.
Last June 1, the mayor stopped the construction of a four-story, 20-classroom building for the Lahug Elementary School.
He later changed his mind and allowed the construction of the building but he stopped the fuel allocation for Lahug’s garbage truck. (RHM)
