The Cebu City disposal committee has set a P10,750,608 appraisal value for 397 unserviceable government vehicles, clearing the way for a negotiated sale following two failed public auctions. The condemned assets include heavy equipment and buses stored at a guarded municipal junkyard in the South Road Properties (SRP) in Barangay Mambaling, while others remain scattered across various local barangays.
Inventory Spans Decades
According to inventory records from the Department of General Services (DGS) submitted to the Cebu City Council, the collection spans nearly four decades of public acquisitions. The oldest identified unit is a 1989 Toyota Hilux, but most of the fleet stems from an aggressive expansion between 2009 and 2012, when the City acquired 155 of the units now marked for disposal. The inventory includes multimillion-peso assets such as bulldozers valued up to P4.8 million each, a P4.6 million dredging machine, and specialized vehicles like Kaohsiung and Yokohama tourist buses, ambulances, and fire trucks.
Why Delayed Disposal Matters
The accumulation of hundreds of obsolete vehicles highlights the compounding costs of delayed asset disposal. Beyond occupying valuable space at the SRP junkyard, abandoned units left in barangays create logistical and environmental challenges. When public assets sit idle for years after being declared beyond repair, their financial value deteriorates significantly.
Initially, city officials estimated the fleet's scrap value at about P11.95 million, based on a combined weight of over 1.49 million kilograms and a March 2026 market survey of junkshop prices between P8 and P13 per kilogram. However, prolonged delays and formal reappraisals under government guidelines reduced the official valuation to P10.75 million. For the city government, slow asset disposal means losing millions in potential recovery revenue that could fund active public services.
Record-Keeping Gaps Exposed
The fleet inventory reveals significant weaknesses in City record-keeping and property accountability. Roughly 130 vehicles in the disposal report lack recorded acquisition dates, and several others are missing purchase price details. This lack of documentation complicates asset valuation and makes it difficult for auditors to track the lifecycle of public property or verify historical expenditure efficiency.
To address these gaps, the current disposal process follows the Commission on Audit (COA)-Department of Budget Management Joint Circular 2024-1. This framework allows local governments to pursue a negotiated sale when public auctions fail, provided assets undergo reappraisal and sell for at least 90 percent of their updated value. This mechanism balances the need to clear backlogs with the legal requirement to safeguard government property from undervalued liquidation.
Next Steps and Oversight
The disposal cannot proceed without final regulatory clearance. Disposal committee chairman and City Administrator Albert Tan endorsed the reappraisal report to COA 7 in late March 2026 for formal review and approval. Observers will monitor whether auditors approve the current P10.75 million valuation and how quickly the City can secure a buyer through negotiation.
Future City procurement and tracking will face stricter oversight. The inventory submission followed a legislative measure by Councilor Harold Kendrick Go, approved by the City Council in late April 2026. The directive forces the DGS to provide comprehensive documentation, including photographs, work programs, and detailed repair cost estimates for all unserviceable assets. This policy change signals a shift toward preventive asset management, aiming to ensure that future City fleets do not languish in junkyards without transparent accounting.
