• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya said he expects this week the result of the investigation he ordered on who are responsible for around 4,800 cement bags, worth P1.1 million, that were found wasted/hardened in two warehouses of the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) Sept. 6.
“I’ve ordered a full investigation. Heads will roll,” Gasataya said in a statement Sept. 6, as he stressed that the cement bags could have been used to build classrooms, foot-walks, barangay roads, and other projects for Bacolodnons.
“Nangin yab-ok na lang. Neglected. Wasted. Gone. Insulto ini sa aton mga taxpayers,” the mayor said. “This will not be swept under the rug. We cannot, and will not allow this kind of neglect to go unanswered. Bacolod City deserves better. We should do better.”
Gasataya said in a city press release Sept. 7 that he has ordered the CEO to provide an explanation and that he expects the report within three days to determine who will be accountable for this wastage. “(This) is something that needs to be done. This might be painful and there will be resistance, but we will do something out-of-the-box. If this means filing cases, we will do so.”
The mayor led a spot inspection on the CEO warehouse at the Bacolod City College compound and in Barangay Alijis Saturday, with CEO officer-in-charge Engr. Loben Ceballos and other department heads and personnel.
They found that 4,686 cement bags at the BCC compound and another 100 in the warehouse in Alijis have either solidified, or improperly stocked and exposed.
Ceballos said some of the cement bags had been stored for several years already, or when supplies were moved from the old storage area during the construction of the BCC complex.
“The hardened cement came from the old warehouse, that’s why we made it into a bedding for the new cement bags to avoid damaging the stocks but due to the number of stocks, this happened,” he explained.
Ceballos said clear-cut standards must be established and enforced to ensure efficient supply and asset management.
The inspection was due to Gasataya’s directive to the newly-formed Inventory Team to conduct a comprehensive audit of all government assets, including stocks and supplies under the CEO, the city said. | CGC
