Wednesday, January 16, 2008 Tomas wants lampposts checked
MAYOR Tomas Osmeña has asked the Visayan Electric Company (Veco) to “dissect” three of the Asean decorative lampposts along Salinas Drive in Barangay Lahug and S. Osmeña Blvd. at the North Reclamation Area.
He wants to know if some parts can be replaced to save on electricity.
Osmeña said this when asked if Cebu City will accept the lighting fixtures once the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 formally turns them over to City Hall.
Mandaue City has reportedly agreed to accept the lampposts, which are the subject of Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s resolution asking the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to conduct an inquiry on two 2007 Asean Summit projects.
The two projects are the allegedly overpriced purchase of decorative lampposts that line the streets of Mandaue and Cebu cities as well as the street lamps in Mandaue City, and the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
The investigation, based on the resolution received by the Senate last Dec. 27, was intended to enact remedial legislation “that will further strengthen the pertinent provisions” of the government procurement law and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Suspension
Even before the lampposts were installed, Osmeña said the lampposts were overpriced, which had already resulted to the suspension of DPWH and local government officials.
July last year, Osmeña called the DPWH “remiss” in their task to turn over the 360 decorative lampposts for the City Government to maintain.
Unpaid electricity bills prompted the Visayan Electric Co. to cut off power supply to the lampposts, several of which were already discovered vandalized just months after they were installed.
He said Veco got three lampposts and experimented how they could consume less electricity.
“We will pay for the pieces. We are looking after the public welfare. Let us not be too formal about this… (because) we serve a better purpose for the public,” he said when asked who will pay for the replacement parts and if it is allowed under accounting rules.
He said he had no choice. “I do not want those things out there rusting for the rest of our lives,” he said. (RHM)
