DESPITE an appeal from the incoming administration to temporarily suspend all procurement and bidding activities, the Cebu City Council, in its regular session on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, approved several resolutions authorizing the signing of construction agreements for various projects.
Councilor Jerry Guardo, who chairs the infrastructure committee, sponsored the resolutions that grant Acting Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros the authority to enter into construction agreements with different firms.
The approved projects include the restoration of Fort San Pedro; the construction of four-story school buildings in Barangays Duljo Fatima, Labangon, San Jose and Tisa; a water facility in Barangay Malubog; a covered court in Labangon; road concreting in Barangay Quiot; and the rehabilitation of a multi-purpose building in Barangay San Roque.
Appeal
However, before the resolutions were approved, Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, a partymate of Mayor-elect Nestor Archival under Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan, appealed to the council to heed Archival’s request.
De los Santos said that on June 3, Archival’s transition team formally requested the current administration to temporarily halt all ongoing and scheduled procurement and bidding activities.
“This pause is intended to give the transition team adequate time to review all related documents, procedures and contracts to ensure alignment with the priorities and governance agenda of the new administration,” she explained.
In response, Councilor Guardo clarified that the biddings for these projects had already been completed. His resolutions were simply to authorize the local chief executive to sign the pre-determined construction agreements with the winning contractors.
Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, who chairs the tourism committee, specifically addressed the significance of approving the Fort San Pedro restoration.
“The restoration of Fort San Pedro is very vital and very important. This has undergone a lot of approval levels, first with the Chac (Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission), then the National Historical Institute (NHI),” she explained.
She added that stopping the project now would mean restarting the lengthy approval process with both Chac and NHI. “If we stop this, then we will start again from the Chac, NHI and I would say that again, this is very important because there is a need to improve Fort San Pedro,” she said.
Clarification
De los Santos clarified that her call was intended to give the incoming mayor an opportunity to deliberate on these projects, as he would be responsible for their implementation. She emphasized that her stance was a “manifestation,” a legal term to inform a party’s position.
Regarding the Fort San Pedro project, de los Santos expressed her support, agreeing that its renovation would not pose any “harm or foul” to the incoming administration. “If this has no harm and no foul, well, I accede to this, but this is only an appeal as far as this new administration is concerned, just to give reference to the mayor,” she said.
Concerning the school buildings, Pesquera expressed confidence that Mayor-elect Archival would be supportive of such crucial infrastructure projects.
De los Santos simply reiterated, “I’m just manifesting, Mr. Chair.” / JPS