BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan ordered the city’s Bids and Wards Committee (BAC) to fastrack the public bidding of the local government’s security services and the maintenance of the pay comfort rooms located in various parts of the city to prevent the suspicion that existing providers are being favoured and the chance of being sued before the office of the Ombudsman.
The local chief executive admitted existing rules and regulations provide for a limited time to extend existing contracts that is why the BAC must immediately conduct the public bidding for these services to avoid delays.
The city’s security services had been time and again extended which might be considered a violation of existing rules and regulations while the maintenance of the pay public comfort rooms expired last June 2016 and now awaiting the conduct of public bidding.
“We want to avoid the suspicion of our people that we are favouring certain quarters because of the delayed public bidding for our security services and the maintenance of our pay public comfort rooms and we have to closely look into certain conditions that must be met before we proceed with the tedious process,” Domogan stressed.
He admitting the existing security provider of the local government had encountered numerous serious problems in the past such as cases break-in in some offices inside the city hall building so the concerned offices must seriously address these pressing matters prior to the bidding process.
He claimed if the previous bidding was a failure, then the BAC should immediately re-bid the security services because while it is pending in the BAC, people will suspect that something fishy might be happening to favour certain quarters which he does not want to happen.
In terms of the maintenance of the pay public comfort rooms, he explained the current operator is on a hold over capacity to ensure the continued service of cleaning and keeping the facilities in order until a new winning bidder will take over.
Under the 15-year agreement between the local government and R&R Sanitary and Management Services, the private operator is tasked to rehabilitate various comfort rooms around the city’s parks and public places, manage its operations and turnover to the local government the said comfort rooms in good condition after the expiration of the agreement.
Domogan explained the local government does not have sufficient personnel to manage the comfort rooms that is why the city opted to extend the services of the operator to make sure that the facilities are still clean for the greater interest of the public until a bidder will win the public bidding to be conducted soon.
He said the public bidding will be open to interested pay comfort room operators who meet the qualifications contained in the terms of reference to be crafted for the purpose. By Dexter A. See