BAGUIO CITY – Concerned trucking industry stakeholders questioned the significant increase in the hauling fee of the commissioned private hauler in the hauling of the city’s residual waste from the temporary transfer station to the engineered sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac.
Sources, who requested anonymity for security reasons, raised concern on why toll fees were included as part of the hauling fee for every ton of garbage hauled out of the city that increased the negotiated price of more than P1,400 per ton to more than P1,600 per ton when in fact, garbage trucks do not pass through the expressways because their programmed travel from the city to the landfill site and vice versa is 24 hours.
The sources also raised concern on the alleged preference being accorded by the concerned offices of the local government to the current hauler when there are local truckers who are able to provide a much cheaper hauling fee that will be beneficial to the city because of the enormous savings that will be incurred for the said service.
The sources claimed that the travel time from the city to the Capas landfill is more than 5 hours, thus, the turnaround time for each of the trucks hauling the city’s residual waste is around 10 to 12 hours passing through the McArthur highway and that the trucks need not to pass through the expressways because these are not loaded with perishable goods and that the operation of the landfill is 24 hours.
According to the sources, there were some local truckers who attempted to submit their much cheaper bids when the same was opened for public bidding but there were some city officials who allegedly discouraged them from participating in the process because they were told they will be disqualified for whatever reason by the members of the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).
Earlier, the city council questioned why was the hauling of the city’s residual waste contracted on a month to month basis that required this to be subjected to public bidding with a ceiling price of more than P1,600 per ton that allegedly includes the payment of toll fees.
The source also revealed that at the height of the Luzonwide lockdown, the city bid out the hauling of residual waste previously to the Urdaneta landfill at the ceiling price of P750 per ton.
However, for one reason or another, some city officials allegedly spearheaded the disqualification of the supposed winning hauler who submitted a much cheaper price of approximately P690 per ton compared to the company which was awarded by the city with the contract that submitted a price of more than P720 per ton.
Worst, the source claimed that the city government went on to negotiate with the current hauler, Metro Waste Corporation, and that the alleged agreed hauling fee was again unreasonably increased to P740 per ton which was already too close to the prescribed ceiling price of P750 per ton.
The source alleged that instead of trying to save on the hauling of the city’s residual waste, it seems that the city government allegedly initiated the increase of the hauling fee which is now draining the city government’s resources.