AFTER years of complaints about foul odors and unsanitary conditions, the Cebu City Jail (CCJ) will finally get a new wastewater treatment facility, with construction set to begin soon.
This comes after the City Council approved the contract between the City Government and Rudhil Construction and Enterprises for the “design and build project” of the wastewater treatment facility at the CCJ in Barangay Kalunasan.
The resolution, authorizing Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to sign the contract, was endorsed to the City Council by Councilor Jerry Guardo, chairman of the committee on infrastructure, during its regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Guardo’s resolution was co-authored by Councilors Francis Esparis and Nestor Archival.
Last March 2024, some council members flagged the project’s delayed implementation, citing its urgency and urged the administration of then mayor Michael Rama to expedite the bidding process.
Last Dec. 17, Garcia revealed the upcoming construction of the wastewater treatment facility during the Christmas party at the City Jail.
The contract with the Zamboanga del Sur-based contractor is worth P42.4 million.
According to the contract, the “design and build project” has a completion period of 510 days from the start of the civil works.
The CCJ male dormitory is located across from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Both facilities are close to the Guadalupe River.
The project aims to resolve the perennial challenges of foul odor and unsanitary conditions within the jail facilities, including the proper treatment of wastewater generated by the jail’s operations, in full compliance with the City’s minimum performance standards and specifications and related laws.
Under the project’s description, the wastewater treatment facility shall be designed to accommodate the estimated population of approximately 6,000 inmates.
The proposed site of the wastewater treatment facility will be located at Block 26 near the annex building, with an available area of 1,272 square meters.
In 2018, a complaint was lodged before the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources regarding a “persistent pungent smell” from the CCJ, posing health and environmental risks to inmates and nearby residents.
In 2019, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 7 issued a cease-and-desist order to the CCJ for failing to meet wastewater standards. The EMB 7 recommended overhauling and retrofitting the facility’s wastewater system.
In 2022, Archival passed a resolution that created a technical working group led by Councilor Esparis, chairman of the committee on social service, to fast-track the project’s bidding process.
During the term of the late Mayor Edgardo Labella, the male dormitory was described as being in a “state of disaster” due to the lack of an adequate sewage treatment facility.
Then vice mayor Rama tasked Archival to allocate funding for the project.
The City Council declared Barangay Kalunasan under a state of calamity, prompting action to be taken. The City Government allocated P45 million from the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund specifically for the construction of the wastewater treatment facility at the CCJ. (EHP)