CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to give P5,000 as assistance to college students of the University of Cebu-Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) in Barangay Mambaling.
“I am worried about the students in UC-Mambaling. I’m going to make a proposal that we will pay all the college students P5,000 each for the inconvenience. I’d rather give it (money) to them than give it to some hauler nga fly-by-night,” he said.
A photo of the maritime students wearing masks while attending classes circulated in social media last week. Their instructor Emmanuel Pacudan Crucio posted it. The students were trying to shut out the foul smell coming from the reopened landfill in nearby Barangay Inayawan.
Told about the mayor’s pronouncement, Crucio said it was a welcome development.
Fix it
“Actually, my view is that the students, ang ilang reklamo sa kabaho is not for monetary purpose. Na-disturb lang gyud sila sa baho. If the mayor, natandog tingali siya, mohatag siya, for me personally, that is a welcome development unya wa lang conditions gyud (I don’t think the students are out to get money from this. They were just disturbed by the stench. If the mayor gives them something, perhaps because he felt sorry for them, I think that is a welcome development),” he said.
But more than the financial assistance, Crucio hopes that the City Government will continue to work on the reducing the smell from the landfill.
In an interview yesterday after the celebration of Don Sergio Osmeña Sr.’s 138th birth anniversary, Osmeña said he prefers to give money to the students than for the City Government to pay the P61 million it owes the private sanitary landfill in Consolacion and a private hauler hired by the previous administration to bring garbage from a transfer station in Inayawan to Consolacion.
He reiterated that the transaction was anomalous as it had no contract, among other flaws.
One-time
Although the P61 million is already for services rendered, he said it was not he who asked them to render their service.
“Tell them to sue. If they can get a decision from the court, fine. Di sila makadaog (They won’t win),” he said.
The mayor said the planned P5,000 assistance to the students will be given only once.
“One-time lang until we can stop the smell because we intend to stop the smell. We can work it now. Luoy sad ba (I feel sorry for them),” he said.
If there are other colleges affected by the stench from the Inayawan, the mayor said they can also be included.
Asked where the funds for that will be taken, Osmeña said the City Government can realign existing appropriations and it will be up to the City Council whether to approve it or not.
However, he said he believes the council would prefer for the City to pay what it owes to Asian Energy Systems Corp. and the private hauler, whom he refused to name, but who is allegedly an ally of Team Rama.
That won’t happen, he said.
‘Threats’
Osmeña alleged that the private hauler doesn’t even have a truck and only borrows from someone else so they can haul the city’s trash. He also said the private hauler’s office is just their house.
If the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will prevent the City from using the Inayawan landfill, Osmeña reiterated his plan to dump the garbage in the South Road Properties.
If Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino will intervene and stop the City’s move, Omeña said he would consider dumping the trash at the Malacañang sa Sugbo, or in front of City Hall’s legislative building if the council will block it.
Asked why they are complaining now about the City’s transaction with Asian Energy and the private hauler, the mayor retorted it has already been exposed by his wife, Councilor Margarita Osmeña.
He said he is thinking of filing a case on the matter.
Told about Councilor Joel Garganera’s plan to seek the court’s intervention on the reopening of the Inayawan landfill, Osmeña said that would be okay with him.
“They always threaten but they don’t do it. Puros threaten-threaten. I don’t respond to threats. I don’t make decisions out of fear. I just have to explain to the Cebuanos why (we are reopening the landfill). This is only temporary,” he added.