Waste collection in the San Miguelito district remains up in the air; in a few days, the contract with the company Recicladora Vida y Salud (Revisalud) will expire, and the new one has not yet been awarded. The tender could even fall through because only two companies participated in the process, and they are awaiting the decision of the evaluation committee, which has generated criticism from various sectors of the population. What happened in San Miguelito, in my judgment, is proof of that. Two bidders and one offer came forward; legally, one could be discarded as risky, which means that only one offer will ultimately have to be evaluated,” he posted on his social networks. Deputy Jorge Bloise countered Cedeño's criticisms, stating that those who criticize in a 'destructive' way are not seeing the work already advanced by the Municipality. He indicated that 'decades of poor administration bring with them a more complex process to fix a problem as complicated as garbage,' but the important thing is that Mayor Irma Hernández has the will to achieve the work she has proposed. 'I am sure of what she will be able to achieve,' he stressed. One of the most striking criticisms was that of Deputy Ernesto Cedeño from the Another Path Movement (Moca), who affirmed that the district is 'not so pretty' at the moment as was promised in the electoral campaign. The scant interest from some companies to provide the service, in the deputy's opinion, is due to the fact that the tender document is not market-friendly, so legally, it can be inferred that one of the companies will be discarded as risky due to the wide margin of difference it maintains with the reference price. 'When a tender document is not made amicably, few bidders come to the public act announced,' he explained. However, among the representatives, the possibility of extending the temporary contracts for collection, transportation, and final disposal of waste awarded to three different companies for six more months is already being discussed to cover the density of the area, which suggests that the tender will be declared void and they will have to resume the search for companies for 2027. Proposals One of the proposals received was from the San Miguelito National Cleaning Consortium, made up of the companies Pronto Aseo, Retaneq, and Panama's National Recycler, whose amount ($264 million) is below the reference price of 315 million dollars. While the second interested party (company Gicaher) offered its services for $500,000.00, a figure that exceeds the entity's budget for said work and that would lead to its disqualification. The mayor, through a press release, expressed that her intention was to extend the participation deadline until February 18, 2026, to boost competition, but the Municipal Council insisted on maintaining the scheduled date, resulting in only two interested parties.
