Six brushes, not four: City Hall answers sweeper price backlash

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo City government said the PHP 3.5 million cost of its newly procured street sweeper reflects technical specifications and after-sales requirements that are absent in some of the lower-priced units it is being compared with online.

General Services Office head Neil Ravena said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Iloilo on Monday, Aug. 31, that the procurement decision was not based solely on the lowest price but on ensuring the equipment meets the city’s quality and operational needs.

“The obligation of the Bids and Awards Committee and the city government is not only to look for the lowest price. We also have to consider how we can balance efficiency, quality and the necessity of this equipment,” Ravena said.

“It is not all about price,” he added.

Ravena said the city equipment has six sweeper brushes, compared with the four-brush units shown in the online advertisements that residents have cited in questioning the purchase as overpriced.

More importantly, he said, the city equipment uses an articulated-arm sweeper powered by hydraulics, allowing the brushes to reach curved gutters and other hard-to-access areas along roads.

He said the design was intended to address Iloilo City’s actual road conditions, including streets with elevated or brick-paved portions along the roadside.

“This means that while it sweeps the roadside, it can also sweep the upper portion simultaneously. Those are designed for higher efficiency in street sweeping here in the city,” he added.

Ravena said these technical requirements were among the considerations written into the procurement specifications and consequently contributed to the equipment’s price.

Another major difference involves the sweeper’s battery and electrical system, he said.

Because the sweeping arm runs on hydraulic power, the equipment requires a battery system capable of supporting its operation.

Ravena said the city specifically required the unit to be compatible with Iloilo City’s existing 220-volt electrical supply.

He said that requirement was drawn from the city’s recent experience with an electric garbage truck, which needed a 380-volt transformer and charging station.

The additional electrical infrastructure for that vehicle cost the city roughly PHP 1 million, Ravena said.

He said such “add-ons and specifications” naturally affected the final price of the sweeper.

Ravena also questioned comparisons drawn solely from the advertised prices of equipment sold online, saying such purchases may not carry the same warranty, accountability, and after-sales support that the city requires.

Equipment bought from abroad may also carry additional costs for taxes, importation, and shipping, he said.

More importantly, he said, the city must have access to replacement parts and technical support if the equipment develops defects.

“If some parts get defective, where do we get the replacements? It is not that easy,” Ravena said.

Ravena did not identify the company that supplied the sweeper, although his remarks, while not explicit, suggested the unit was sourced from a foreign manufacturer.

He said the city’s procurement requirements included a local counterpart or service station in the Philippines to ensure the availability of replacement parts and after-sales service.

“We required that there should be a local station so that if there are after-sales concerns, such as problems with parts, there should be an immediate replacement,” he said.

Under those requirements, he said, the supplier must be able to address problems involving defective parts immediately.

Ravena also cited a warranty or bond requirement that would allow the city to seek remedies if defects arise within the applicable warranty period.

Procured through competitive bidding

Ravena said the sweeper was acquired through competitive bidding and that the procurement was posted on the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, or PhilGEPS.

Government purchases of this size are covered by the national procurement law, which requires agencies to post bid opportunities publicly and to award contracts to the lowest bid that also passes evaluation against the technical and financial requirements set in the bidding documents. Price alone does not determine the award.

He said the city government cannot simply select a unit based on its advertised price because procurement specifications and other requirements must also be weighed.

“It underwent competitive bidding. It was posted online. There is PhilGEPS, so you can check the documents from the Bids and Awards Committee because these are public documents and can be provided,” Ravena said.

He said the online prices being cited by critics should not be treated as a direct comparison because they may involve different specifications and procurement conditions.

“We saw that their basis was what they found online, and these are not necessarily applicable to the local scenario because there is no supplier here for that equipment,” Ravena said.

He added that online sellers may use low prices as part of their marketing strategy.

“An online business’s marketing strategy is to have a very low price. That is their marketing strategy,” he said.

Ravena said the city government is willing to provide documents related to the sweeper procurement to individuals who formally request them, noting that the records are public.

“We are publicly accountable. As long as these are public documents, we in the city government emphasize transparency and good governance, and we are more than willing to provide these documents for transparency,” he said.

“Taxpayers should demand public accountability and transparency,” Ravena added.