CEBU City’s share of the revenue from pay parking has been declining over the years, putting the City Government at a disadvantage.
The City received P9 million as of Sept. 30, 2023, or around half of the amount it received for the entire year in 2022 that amounted to P17.7 million.
This prompted the City Council to request the executive department to review the City’s contract with Tokogawa Global Corp. (TGC), the City’s pay-parking service provider.
Mayor Michael Rama also ordered a review on the joint venture agreement (JVA) between the City Government and TGC last October, but only after the Commission on Audit flagged it for some deficiencies.
According to the City’s information office, the JVA was initiated in November 2018 during former mayor Tomas Osmeña’s administration to address issues of insufficient parking management services and illegal parking that caused daily traffic congestion.
Based on earlier reports, the JVA signed in 2018 was for three years. When it expired in December 2021, it was renewed on Feb. 8, 2022, for five more years. The agreement will expire in 2026.
Decrease in revenue
The City Treasurer’s Office submitted to the council a report on the City’s revenue from pay parking, which was included in the agenda during the regular session on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
The report showed that the City’s earnings had been going down since 2013 except for in 2017.
Based on the document, the City collected P45,706,440 in 2013; P38,942,857.50 in 2014; P37,458,365 in 2015; P36,951,675 in 2016; P48,166,395 in 2017; and P36,475,423.50 in 2018.
All the money went directly to the City’s accounts.
With the start of the JVA with TGC, revenue from pay parking was P36,383,548.95 in 2019 with P27,566,790 going to the City and P8,816,758.95 going to TGC; 27,495,368.77 in 2020 with P18,697,280 going to the City and P8,798,088.77 going to TGC; P35,705,697.47 in 2021 with P26,865,310 going to the City and P8,840,387.47 going to TGC; and P26,581,534.99 in 2022 with P17,740,715 going to the City and P8,840,819.99 going to TGC.
As of Sept. 30 this year, the revenue was P16,759,459.64 with P9,197,447.50 going to the City and P7,562,012.14 going to TGC.
Considering the decreasing trend, City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco made a corollary motion during Wednesday’s session that the executive department should take a second look at the contract with TGC.
“When the collection was still being done by the CCTO (Cebu City Transportation Office), we had an annual of at least P36 million. Now that it’s being done by the Tokogawa, more than one half na lang,” said Cuenco in an interview on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Cuenco said the City could have used the money for its projects and programs that would benefit the public.
No investment
Cuenco also questioned TGC’s contribution in the JVA, saying no parking infrastructure was even built.
He said the TGC has only been using the side of the streets which the government maintains.
“They are supposed to invest in parking infrastructures like steel parking, multi-level parking (facility). What happened now is they are only using the streets,” he said.
Should the investigation show any deficiencies in the contract, Cuenco said the City has the right to terminate it even if it won’t expire until 2026.
The local legislator also questioned why the contract was renewed in 2021 despite the “red flags.”
The COA, in its December 2022 Annual Audit Report, flagged the 2018 JVA for various deficiencies that included non-compliance with certain parameters set forth under City Ordinance 2154 dated Sept. 17, 2008, thus earning a “semblance of a void contract.”
SunStar Cebu tried to get an update on the investigation ordered by Rama, but City Administrator Collin Rosell, on Sunday, said he would give an update on Monday, Dec. 4.
Cuenco said the executive department should consider hiring personnel to do the collection instead of partnering with a private entity.
“Makahatag pa ta og trabaho (We can provide jobs)... ang Tokogawa ra atong gipadato aning kalakiha (under the current setup only Tokogawa is getting rich),” said Cuenco.