CEBU City Mayor Nestor Archival has vehemently denied the claims of Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover Jr. that he has ordered the pullout of heavy equipment assigned to the city’s mountain barangays, jeopardizing residents during emergencies.
Archival said the equipment in Barangay Mabini will only be inventoried and repositioned after the current landslide clearing operation is complete.
In a statement, streamed live on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, Alcover claimed at least three heavy machineries stationed in Barangay Mabini were pulled out by personnel of the Department of General Services (DGS) on Tuesday, Oct. 14, quoting Mabini Barangay Captain Richard Adolfo.
Alcover said the equipment had played a vital role in the community’s disaster response and development efforts.
In response, Archival denied pulling out the heavy equipment saying these are still being used in the area for an ongoing clearing operation in the barangay after a recent landslide.
Archival also clarified that heavy equipment are intended for city-wide use.
The heavy machineries — an excavator, a wheel loader, and a road roller were earlier pre-positioned in Barangay Mabini as the village and its adjacent barangays are landslide prone.
“Mayor Archival, I just hope there won’t be any major accidents in the mountain areas now that you’ve withdrawn the heavy equipment,” said Alcover, adding that the decision contradicts the mayor’s earlier assurance of continued disaster readiness.
Alcover urged the mayor to purchase additional heavy equipment and redirect funds for the purpose.
“Kung kulang ang mga heavy equipment dungagan, dili kuhaan. Kanang P12.5M ni Tomas rental sa Mayor of the Night office kay ipalit na heavy equipment ug kanang income nga P24M sa upat ka bulan nga night market operations kay kuha-a na gikan sa sindikato diha ug ipalit og heavy equipment kay tag P7M ra kada usa (If heavy equipment is lacking, add to it, do not take from it. That P12.5M Tomas used to rent the Mayor of the Night office should be used to buy heavy equipment; and that P24M income from four months of night market operations, get that from the syndicate there and use it to buy heavy equipment because it only costs P7M each),” Alcover said.
Alcover said it was also illogical to return the equipment back to the DGS since these would need to be transported again to the mountain areas during emergencies.
“Mayor Archival, I’ve lost my respect for you because you said you will not pull them out. You are a liar because you said in your interview that you did not pull them out,” said Alcover in Bisaya.
Inventory
In an interview on Wednesday, Archival said the heavy machineries are still in Barangay Mabini for the clearing operation, and his administration has not ordered them pulled out.
“I don’t know his (Alcover) basis. I don’t understand; maybe he got the wrong information or maybe he was told the truth, but he just wants to twist it,” said Archival in Cebuano.
Archival explained that any movement of heavy equipment was for inventory purposes, in line with a City Council resolution filed by Councilor Sisinio Andales directing that all city-owned machinery be returned to the DGS for proper monitoring.
He said the barangay had failed to return the donated equipment to City Hall, preventing other mountain villages from accessing it.
“Wa ko kasabut sa tono ni Jun kay bisan unsa buhaton sa administration kay magsige og yawyaw (I don’t understand Jun why no matter what this administration does, he just keeps on grumbling),” said Archival, urging Alcover to talk directly with him to resolve the concern.
Archival plans to reposition the machineries to Barangay Guba, which is strategically placed at the center of Cebu’s mountain barangays.
“It is unfair for other barangays to just have the machineries focused on his place,” said Archival.
On Sept. 23, 2025, Andales, the Minority Floor Leader, raised questions over Barangay Mabini’s continued custody of the equipment, saying the supposed donation to the barangay was withdrawn and lacked legal documentation.
In the previous 16th City Council, then-councilor Mary Ann de los Santos also opposed the barangay’s exclusive use of the equipment, stressing the machines were procured for citywide use under the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), and not just for a single barangay. / EHP