Ben Madilynn
THE proposed free public Wi-Fi project at Plaza Sugbo and Plaza Independencia in Cebu City was shelved due to the alleged irregularities in the contract presented by the departments to the City Council.
In an interview with reporters after the executive session on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, Councilor Nestor Archival said that he approves of the installation of free public Wi-Fi, however, the objective of the project must be defined first.
Archival said that it is the supplier that is supposed to be giving the program of works and estimates (Powe), not the City Government.
But in this case, it is the Management Information and Computer Services (Mics) that made the Powe and not the supplier, he added.
Moreover, he said that the departments pushed for the public Wi-Fi resolution asked the authority of the council to let the contract be signed, which charges the City P4 million without even finalizing the Powe yet.
“So maghimo sila og Powe, butangan nila og P4 million daan. So, fill in the blanks nalang tong contractor (So they will make the Powe, putting their P4 million. And the contractor will just fill in the blanks),” said Archival.
He said that the persons involved in the Powe cannot even explain what is in the contract, which is why he opted to complain on the matter.
Archival said, for example, that the contractor priced the mobilization for P30,000, but the Mics changed it to P345,000.
“Nya naa sad uban presyo nga dagko kaayo (There are some that the prices are too high),” he added.
Archival said that the manner of overpricing things in the contract can be the basis for future projects.
In a previous SunStar Cebu report, Councilor Jerry Guardo, who authored the resolution for the free public Wi-Fi project, has decided to postpone the project’s July implementation to address first the issues related to the pricing of the project’s mobilization and demobilization services raised by Archival.
The City Council, during its regular session on July 17, also agreed to conduct an executive session on the matter, inviting representatives from the Department of Engineering and Public Works, Bids and Awards Committee, Information and Communications Technology, contractor of Trends and Technologies, and Department of General Services.
Archival reportedly pointed out that some specifications for the project, based on its Powe, are “disadvantageous” to the City.
Archival noted that the City, based on the project’s Powe, will be charged P345,567 for the mobilization and demobilization charges, which is somehow expensive.
Archival then called for further studies regarding the matter.
For his part, Conrado Odesta, acting department head of Mics, said that in the mobilization, it only charged P30,000. However, they included with it the monopole tower mast, which cost P394,729.
Moreover, Odesta said that there will be four monopoles installed at the Plaza Sugbo, while three will be placed at the Plaza Independencia.
When Archival asked why there was a need for four access points, Odesta explained that the wavelengths within the city are turbulent compared to the mountains. That is why there is a need for close-distance monopoles.
Jim Albert Dela Cruz, an information technologist, said that four monopoles are needed in the Plaza Sugbo so that it can accommodate over 1,000 users without any interference due to the short wavelength.
The proposed resolution will be sent back to the committee for revision. /JPS
