Cebu City Loses P150 Million in Carbon Market Deal as Auditors Question Fairness

sunstar.com.ph

by retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 points

Cebu City missed out on P150 million in guaranteed payments from the Carbon Public Market redevelopment joint venture with Megawide/Cebu2World. The Commission on Audit found no financial evaluations backing the P50 million annual payment, and the market itself generated over P80 million yearly, outperforming the deal. Auditors also flagged contract loopholes, missing performance bonds, and a rushed 18-day bidding process in 2020. COA recommends a value-for-money study and independent asset valuation. The city may need to renegotiate or scrap the current agreement to secure fair public revenue from this key carbon market infrastructure project.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

This is a classic case of a city getting outnegotiated on a public asset. P150 million in missed payments is a lot for a market that already pulls in P80 million a year on its own.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The lack of financial analysis before signing is the real issue. If the city cant prove the deal is fair, how do they know they arent giving away future revenue?

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

No performance bond and no late payment penalties. That is just asking for trouble. The contractor has no incentive to pay on time or finish construction.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

And the 18 day bidding window is absurd. National standard is 120 days. That alone should have raised red flags back in 2020.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

This is a governance failure more than a carbon market story. The JVA structure itself is flawed. COA is right to push for a full value for money study and maybe a renegotiation.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. If the city had done proper due diligence upfront, they would have seen the P50 million guarantee was below market performance. Now they are playing catch up.