Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong criticized the Department of Public works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) for continuously implementing alleged substandard projects in the different parts of the city which is no long congruent to the efforts of national and local officials to rid the bureaucracy of corruption.
The local chief executive stated that of the 5 projects that were implemented by the DPWH-BCDEO which they inspected last week, 3 projects allegedly failed the prescribed standards in the implementation of infrastructure projects which is no longer tolerable as the same is a waste of public funds.
He pointed out that the alleged deliberate actions of the DPWH-BCEO in the implementation of alleged substandard projects is reportedly undermining the ongoing efforts of public works Secretary Mark Villar to introduce the appropriate reforms that will rid the agency of corruption which had been prevalent in the department over the past several decades.
Aside from continuously implementing alleged substandard projects, Magalong also lashed out at the DPWH-BCDEO for reportedly failing to coordinate with the local government on how to implement the projects and what are supposed to be the priority projects that will be implemented in the city to support the cause of the present administration for a better Baguio.
He expressed disappointment on the alleged failure of the DPWH-BCDEO to improve on the way the agency implements funded infrastructure projects despite the previous criticisms that he had been issuing in the past, thus, the need for the local government to continue waging war against such malpractices of the DPWH-BCDEO officials for them to shape up.
According to him, the local government will continue to be vigilant on the way the DPWH-BCDEO implements funded infrastructure projects to ensure that the same are prosecuted pursuant to project specifications and standards to avoid repeating the implementation of substandard projects which is contrary to the ongoing campaign of the local government on good governance.
The city mayor was saddened on how the DPWH-BCDEO implemented the clinic project at the Baguio Teachers Camp where the completed facilities had been poorly done by the agency and the commissioned contractor, thus, the need for the project implementer to institute the appropriate changes that will ensure the acceptance of the project.
Magalong also expressed dismay on the alleged failure of the DPWH-BCDEO to secure the acceptance of the local government as end user for the completed projects before the same will be fully paid by the agency since what had been happening in the past is that the DPWH-BCDEO had been paying the implemented projects even if the same had been classified as substandard projects.
He emphasized that the city will continue to monitor the projects that are being implemented by the DPWH-BCDEO and to harp on the way the said projects are prosecuted until such time that appropriate reforms have been instituted to comply with the quality of the projects that are for public use. By Dexter A. See
