Parañaque City Mayor Eric Olivarez ordered City Administrator Atty. Voltaire de la Cruz and the City Legal Office to provide the City Council with the basis for the award of the city’s garbage hauling contract which took effect on January 1 this year.
Olivarez made the order on Tuesday, Jan. 17 to address the concerns of some City Council members that the garbage hauling contract was never approved by the council before it was implemented.
“We want to assure the members of our City Council that everything we do is above board, and that we respect the Council’s authority and mandate,” Olivarez said.
“And this is a contract that the city government and the people of Parañaque absolutely need.”
For his part, Dela Cruz said there was actually an authority from the council to enter into a garbage hauling contract when the Council approved the city budget for 2023 which stipulated the hiring of a contractor and allotting a budget for the same.
“It was a line item in the budget which the Council approved, so the Council knows we are hiring a contractor, and we started the bidding process last year through our Bids and Awards Committee,” Dela Cruz said.
The city administrator said they received only one bid and the price and terms were nearly identical to the old contract.
Dela Curz said the contract was awarded to ensure that there is no disruption in garbage collection which is very critical to the city and its residents
He added that Atty. Pancho Vasquez, head of the City Legal Office, has prepared all the necessary documents which will be submitted to the Council for their review.
“We will also send the Council certifications from our barangays that the new contractor has been able to resolve and address all garbage collection issues, including the backlogs left behind by the previous contractor,” De la Cruz said.