Target date of completion passed, yet the Alburquerque Cluster Sanitary Landfill (ACSL) remains in negative slippage of 70 percent.

However, Laurel Construction, the contractor of the ACSL, had prepared to turn over the project to the local government unit.

This was learned from an employee of the contractor who disclosed preparations for the turn-over.

He said they were already clearing the area as of Monday as part of the preparation of the turnover of the project to the local government unit and the provincial government.

It can be noted that in the protocol, the contractor has to turn over the project to the implementing agency which is the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA). Then it is then the TIEZA that will turn over the project to the LGU.

The LGU of Alburquerque will take over the operation, management, administration and maintenance of the Sanitary Landfill after its completion based on an existing agreement signed between the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the forerunner of the TIEZA and Alburquerque on February 12, 2007.

Laurel Construction started working on the project’s phase 3 on September 11 last year and supposed finished the project on Sunday, April 12 or a period of 201 calendar days.

The project covers an area of 18 hectares and its phase 3 costs 55.806 million pesos.

The employee of Laurel Construction, however, refused to elaborate as to the status of the completion of the project when interviewed by DYRD Inyong Alagad.

The ACSLF was conceptualized by a group of 11 towns to put up a common landfill site for their residual wastes with Alburquerque designated as the location.

Hinted of the hitches, the areas in the cluster–Balilihan, Corella, Cortes, Dauis, Lila, Loboc, Maribojoc, Panglao, Sikatuna and Tagbilaran City—scout for alternative dumpsites for the growing heap of garbage.

Alburquerque Mayor Efren Tungol expressed disappointment that by deadline on Sunday, the phase 3 of the project was still less than halfway done.

Based on the independent assessment done recently under the Contractor Performance Evaluation System (CPES), the project completion has a huge negative slippage of 70.8 percent.

The CPES findings validated the figures of the Municipal Inspectorate Team headed by Municipal Engineer Fe Culiao of a negative slippage of 70.14 percent.

This is contrary to the earlier pronouncement of Lawyer Guller Asido, TIEZA assistant chief operating officer, that as of January 14 this year, negative slippage was only a mere -4.49 percent.

TIEZA now accepted the findings of CPES and opted to find ways to fast track the completion of the project, according to Tungol.

Another target is set—August this year, about a year when Tungol set the ultimatum for the LGU to take over.

The new estimate to complete the project by August could only be possible “if TIEZA takes a serious effort to remedy the shortfall from the project contractor, according to the mayor.