Friday, September 05, 2008 DPWH to pay light bills but Mandaue won’t use lamps
MANDAUE City will not light the controversial deco lamps bought in late 2006 for the Asean Summit, even if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) releases funds to pay the lamps’ power bills for the first quarter of this year.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said he also has no plans of keeping the decorative lamps where they are now, but intends to transfer these to different barangays.
Thinking aloud, Cortes said the City may line the street going to the Bantayan sa Hari in Barangay Looc with these decorative lamps.
For now, however, the mayor cannot do anything with the lamps, as these have not yet been turned over to the City because of an ongoing case.
The mayor’s reaction was sought yesterday on reports that the DPWH already released the electric bill payments for the deco lamps for January to March this year.
Asked if he will have these deco lamps lighted, Cortes said no, pointing out that the streets already have lamps installed by the City.
He said he’d rather distribute the deco lamps to the barangays.
Former Mandaue City mayor Thadeo Ouano, some of his subordinate officials, former DPWH regional director Roberto Lala, some of his subordinate officials and suppliers Fabmik Construction and Gampik Construction were charged for the allegedly overpriced purchase of the lamps.
Last month, however, Sandiganbayan prosecutors filed a motion to withdraw the criminal charge against Ouano and 11 others, while the government reviews a Commission on Audit report on the summit transactions.
Fabmik and Gampik used to pay the for lamps’ power bills, but stopped when the turnover was put off by the case. The Visayan Electric Company (Veco) then cut off power supply to these lamps.
Veco information officer Ethel Natera, in an earlier interview, had said they cut off power to some 660 “apex-type” lamps in Cebu City and Mandaue City last April 13, 2007. These were briefly switched on during a presidential visit, but have remained off since then.
The mayor is planning to use these deco lamps along the road from St. Joseph Church to Bantayan sa Hari in Barangay Looc, a two-kilometer stretch.
Looc Barangay Captain Cesar Cabahug said there are around five electric posts surrounding the Bantayan, which he will remove if these deco lamps are installed there. (OCP)
