BAGUIO CITY – The city government recently sought the assistance of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) to locate qualified consultants who are authorized to undertake the conduct of the city’s waste analysis and characterization study (WACS), which would be the overall basis of all solid waste programs that will be done by the local government to solve its existing garbage woes.
Romeo D. Concio, city general services officer, said the city’s WACS had already been subjected to public bidding twice but there were no qualified takers of the said study, thus, the need for the city government to already adopt the negotiated bidding to qualified companies in order to realize the long overdue project.
“We have no other option but to subject the WACS to negotiated bidding with qualified companies after the two failed public biddings. WACS is the basis of all the programs and projects that we will undertake in order to solve our existing garbage woes,” Concio stressed.
He explained the data to be gathered in the conduct of the WACS will be the basis of the city solid waste management board in crafting short- medium and long-term solutions in solving the city’s garbage disposal problem that has been hounding the local government over the past eight years.
According to him, the results of the WACS will guide policy-maker and decision-makers on which among the numerous pending project proposals will be applicable in significantly solving the city’s garbage problem.
Further, Concio claimed the data to be obtained from the WACS will also be used to update the city’s 10year solid waste management plan and the terms of reference that will be used for the public bidding of the available technologies that will be used in the city’s solid waste disposal facility in order for the adoption of the appropriate solution to the city’s garbage problem.
The WACS will provide the type of waste generated in the city’s 128 barangays and the volume of each type of waste to aid experts on what possible solutions to adopt.
He revealed there might be a delay in the implementation of the integrated solid waste management disposal facility project because of the failed public bidding of the WACS over the past several months plus the fact that the negotiated bidding process will still take some time to complete.
Concio claimed despite the request for assistance that was forwarded to the NSWMC, the city government has not yet received a formal response from the Commission considering that it is the one that is empowered to pinpoint the qualified consultants who can easily undertake the WACS.
He explained the city government cannot move forward in dealing with the city’s solid waste management concerns without the updated results to be generated by the waste analysis and characterization study so that the appropriate programs and projects will be the ones to be adopted and put in place to prevent the city from waiting public funds in future solid waste management disposal projects and interventions that can be prematurely undertaken.
