‘Captains have option not to accept vehicles’

ASSOCIATION of Barangay Councils President and Kasambagan Barangay Captain Franklyn Ong advised barangay captains to have the Department of General Services (DGS) check the vehicles the City Government donated to them before accepting the units.

Ong gave the advice in the wake of complaints of some village chiefs that the vehicles donated to their barangays were defective.

“I told our barangay captains that before they will accept the vehicles, they should request the DGS to check the units to see if there are defects,” he said.

SunStar Cebu learned that barangays allied with both camps—Barug PDP-Laban and Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan—received the defective units.

Ong said the barangays have the option not to accept the vehicles, especially if these have issues, as their repair and maintenance can drain the villages’ funds.

He said not all barangays, including the units intended for the ABC, have received the units since some are still under inventory.

The vehicles are not new, with most of them already assigned to the barangays and only need to be covered by a deed of donation.

These include a Fuso mini bus, Isuzu truck, Mitsubishi Fuzion minivan, Hyundai utility truck, mini dump truck, Isuzu elf, Mitsubishi L300 van, Suzuki APV ambulance, Mitsubishi Strada, Isuzu NPR, Hyundai Transporter and Mitsubishi Adventure, among other units.

The resolutions covering the donation of the vehicles to the barangays were sponsored by former city councilor Sisinio Andales and were approved by the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod.

In separate resolutions and council sessions, the council authorized former mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign the deed of donation of 106 vehicles to the 80 barangays, with some barangays getting more than one vehicle.

After hearing the complaints of some barangay captains about the units they received, former ABC president and now City Councilor Phillip Zafra said he will inspect all the units that have yet to be released.

“Rest assured that before the remaining units are released, we will make sure that these are road-worthy,” Zafra said in a phone interview.

Zafra said they will scrutinize the agreement again, especially since the deed of donation specifically states that once the barangay captain signs it, all expenses related to the repair and maintenance of the vehicles will be taken care of by the barangay.

He said this would have an effect on the barangay’s finances.

“I was informed initially that everything will be taken care of by the barangay, which, for sure, will also affect the basic services delivered by the barangay,” Zafra added.

He said they are waiting for the report of the barangay captains regarding the defects of the vehicles. (JJL)

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