Cebu City vice mayor wants City Hall to take over construction of school buildings

CEBU CITY, July 25 (PNA) - Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young wants City Hall to take over the construction of classrooms in the city’s schools because the Department of Education’s (DepEd) school buildings in the city are allegedly overpriced.

Young said that based on his review of the program of works and estimates (Powe) prepared by the DepEd 7, the school building projects were overpriced by as much as P375,000 per classroom.

He said it cost DepEd P1,210,830.69 to construct one classroom, while the City Government would spend only P837,000 to construct the same classroom.

For six school buildings constructed by DepEd in the city last year alone, he said the agency overspent some P8.84 million, which could have been used to construct 12 more classrooms for the city’s schools.

He said the buildings come out overpriced because the DepEd 7, which follows the procedures implemented by the central office, adds a total of 76 percent to the total cost of the materials, while the city adds only 60 percent for labor cost, contingencies, contractor’s profit and taxes.

Young said the city sustained losses because it would have received 12 more classrooms for the same amount of money.

As a matter of procedure, City Hall, through the Local School Board, makes the building design, plan and program of works and estimates for all school building projects, which are submitted to DepEd for the latter to implement.

But Young said DepEd altered the plans and program of works and estimates, which resulted in a higher cost.

The vice mayor prepared a letter to be hand carried to newly appointed DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, to inform him of the “excessive” cost of the classrooms built by DepEd in six schools in 2009.

”I am asking Secretary Luistro to follow the costing prepared by the city. We will prepare the design and the Powe, and we will conduct the bidding and supervise the construction so we can save money. They only have to pay for it. The money does not even have to be turned over to the city, the contractor will just bill DepEd,” he said. (PNA)
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