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[av_heading heading=’P180M for 2017 city waste collection ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia requested to include P180 million in the proposed 2017 city government budget.
The amount is allotted for solid waste collection next year, the City Mayor’s Office said.
Sangguniang Panlungsod hearings on the P2-billion proposed budget are ongoing.
Councilor Caesar Distrito, chairman of the committee on finance and appropriations, confirmed the allocation under the mayor’s office.
Currently the IPM Construction and Development Corp. is collecting garbage here.
Under a P59.4-million environmental sanitary service contract, the IPM shall collect waste from Sept. 2 to Dec. 31 this year in a “total cleanup” basis (no sanitary landfill maintenance).
City hall under then Mayor Monico Puentevella — whom Leonardia replaced after the May elections — allotted P150 million for solid waste collection from January to August this year. Later it asked for P62 million more.
At the time Dynamic Builders and Construction Co. (Phil.), Inc. was the contractor. Aside from collecting garbage from across the city, Dynamic Builders was also tasked to maintain the sanitary landfill.
The city allotted another P43 million for Dynamic Builders for the supposed construction of Cell No. 2 at the landfill in Barangay Felisa.
But an official, who requested for anonymity being unauthorized to speak to the press, said city hall was paying Dynamic Builders P30 million a month.
Distrito said the proposed 2017 city government budget is P200 million higher than this year’s budget.
Budget hearings will continue today and Friday, Nov. 18. Distrito said the proposed budgets of departments not present at the hearings will not be approved.
Among the items discussed so far were the inclusion of the second tranche of salary increase (Salary Standardization Law 4), salary raise for job order employees, free public internet connection, scholarships and school supplies in public elementary schools, miscellaneous fees for public elementary and high schools, and medical/burial assistance.
Other professional services (P116 million) — allowance for teachers, police officers, judges, fiscals, and lawyers — were tackled, too./PN
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