OUTGOING Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon withdrew his resolution that sought to donate three heavy equipment units to Barangay Mabini following a tension-filled discussion during the City Council’s regular session on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Gealon had sponsored several resolutions to donate service and utility vehicles to various barangays. These included a van, minibus, and mini dump truck for Barangay Budlaan; a minibus and mini dump truck for Barangay Cogon Pardo; a dump truck and wagon for Barangay Sapangdaku; a pickup truck for Barangay Tabunan; and three motor vehicles for Barangay Pulangbato. Barangay Sudlon I was also set to receive a van, minibus, and mini dump truck.
The resolutions were approved; however, the resolution proposing the donation of an excavator, a wheel loader and a road roller to Barangay Mabini drew strong opposition.
Outgoing Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos led the objections, pointing out that the equipment had been purchased for citywide road maintenance and public works.
“The donation is not only inappropriate but obviously done in utter bad faith, considering that its effects would be crippling or even paralyzing certain public works and other road maintenance services of the City’s own Department of Engineering and Public Works,” she said.
She also raised concerns about the technical requirements for operating such equipment, stating that it required skilled personnel with National Certificate 2 qualifications under the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
De los Santos questioned Barangay Mabini’s capacity to operate the units, saying it lacked qualified personnel and funds for fuel, lubricants, parts and mechanics. She emphasized that the City had conducted thorough planning and feasibility studies before acquiring the equipment — processes that, she argued, the barangay could not replicate.
She concluded that the “haste associated in pushing for this donation amounts to an unwanted disregard for moral decency and managing government resources all in the name of patronage politics.”
Outgoing Councilor Joy Augustus Young supported de los Santos’s position. Citing four decades of experience in barangay governance, he said most barangays lacked the capacity to maintain heavy equipment or even provide adequate parking.
Young said while donating service vehicles was acceptable, heavy equipment should remain with the City Government.
In response, Gealon said the Department of General Services had already turned over the equipment to Barangay Mabini. He added that DGS engineers would assist with operations and maintenance and argued that Mabini’s strategic location made it ideal for equipment deployment during calamities.
Gealon confirmed that the resolution for donating the heavy equipment to Barangay Mabini — as well as other resolutions involving the reprogramming of over P381 million in unexpended balances for disaster risk reduction — was withdrawn.
The decision on the donation will be left to the next administration. / JPS