CEBU City outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña clarified his administration is not involved in a midnight deal in relation to the proposal of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) for a solid waste management system of the city.
The outgoing mayor said incoming mayor Edgardo Labella even has the discretion to continue the negotiation or not.
Osmeña said in a statement there was no deal at all since his administration is still on the negotiation stage which is required under City Ordinance 2154.
“There is no deal because negotiations has not been completed. In fact, on June 17, the JVSC (joint venture selection committee) has extended the period of negotiations to July 24, 2019, which grants the new administration full discretion and authority to continue and conclude the negotiations, on either an agreement or rejection. If the incoming administration has full discretion and accountability, how can there be a midnight deal?” read Osmeña’s statement sent to SunStar Cebu.
A “concerned Cebuano” put out a paid advertisement in SunStar Cebu’s June 18, 2019 issue accusing Osmeña of awarding the certificate of acceptance to Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) on May 24, 2019 for a solid waste management contract.
“Despite the clear evidence and the city paying a lot of money for a competent consultant who produced the comparative analysis, the outgoing mayor handed a Certificate of Acceptance to MPIC, the company with the inferior proposal, on May 24. This is midnight dealing at its finest,” part of the advertisement said.
Osmeña said the issuance of certificate of acceptance is part of the early stage one that is required under CO 2154 or the Joint Venture Ordinance of the City.
Under CO 2154, unsolicited proposals have a three-stage framework and the certificate of acceptance is one of the early documents required in the first stage.
“It should be stressed that this acceptance does not bind the City Government to enter the joint venture. The document simply authorized to proceed with the detailed negotiations on the following items: purpose, terms and conditions, scope, as well as the legal, technical and financial aspects,” Osmeña said.
“If the negotiations will not result in an agreement, the City Government shall have the option to reject the proposal and thereafter may accept new proposal,” he added. (RVC)