Friday, February 15, 2008 Tomas blames ombud for delay in Asean lampposts turnover
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants to convert the decorative lampposts into more efficient street lighting system, but he admits he can’t do anything yet until the lampposts are turned over to the City Government.
Osmeña said the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas is partly to blame for the delay, saying it has sat on the City’s request to resolve the matter.
In his news conference yesterday, he said he has long wanted to take over the lampposts that were installed before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit but because of some legal concerns, the City has not been able to do so.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City cannot do anything with the lampposts yet because the contractor has not turned these over to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) yet. DPWH, in turn, cannot turn over the facilities to the City.
“We are not getting anywhere with this issue. When we wanted to take over the lampposts, they wouldn’t let us and I think the ombudsman is partially at fault. It borders on reckless negligence for allowing these things to be on the streets to be pilfered. I still haven’t received any notification on what I’m supposed to do with it,” Osmeña said.
Once the legal concerns are resolved, the mayor said he will convert the decorative lampposts into regular street lighting facilities by extending its length and replacing its bulbs.
Once the lamps are improved and the streets are better lit, particularly in San Jose de la Montaña Ave., Osmeña said he will remove the center islands and the lampposts there so the road can be widened.
“But I will have to discuss this with Citom and maybe we can just put new lane dividers instead of the center island. Then we can widen the road without spending for right of way. The electricity consumption will also be diminished because we will take out the lamps in the center island,” he said. (LCR)
