LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Central and regional offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) cited its First Benguet District Engineering Office (FBDEO) for its exemplary accomplishments in absorptive capacity and disbursement create over the past several months.
Undersecretary Rafael Yabut and DPWH-CAR regional director Tiburcio Canlas conferred to DPWH-FBDEO district engineer Ireneo S. Gallato the appropriate citation after he was able to top the list of districts in the region in terms of absorptive capacity and landing in second place in terms of disbursement rate.
The awarding of the top performing districts in the region was done during the agency’s regional staff conference hosted by the DPWH-CAR regional office in Baguio City recently.
The absorptive capacity of a district refers to its ability to complete the prescribed processes in the conduct of public bidding for currently funded projects short of the implementation stage while disbursement rate refers to the ability of the district offices to pay the contractors after ascertaining the good quality of the projects that were prosecuted during the current year.
Gallato assumed his position in Benguet in November last year after serving as the district engineer of the Lower Kalinga District Engineering office for over 4 years where he was able to lead the district office as one of the top ten performing district offices in the country in terms of absorptive capacity and disbursement rate.
“We are deeply honoured by the citation that was given to us. We attribute our success to the individual and collective efforts of our personnel in the district office because they were able to show their unity and teamwork in dealing with the prevailing situation in our area of jurisdiction,” Gallato stressed.
The district engineer also expressed his gratitude to Rep. Nestor B. Fongwan, Sr., the provincial government headed by Gov. Melchor Diclas, the municipal officials in the different towns comprising the FBDEO and concerned sectors who, in one way or the other, showed their all-out support to the agency in the prosecution of the programmed projects for the benefit of the greater majority of the populace.
According to him, the FBDEO will remain proactive in addressing the issues and concerns confronting the implementation of the different infrastructure projects funded by the government’s annual budget to ensure there will be no unnecessary delays in the prosecution of the projects that are considered beneficial to the people, especially those from the remote communities in the district office’s area of jurisdiction.
Gallato appealed to the local officials covered by the FBDEO and concerned stakeholders to continue enhancing the relationship between the agency and the local governments so that problems arising from the planning, identification, programming, implementation and monitoring of infrastructure projects in their places will be transparent pursuant to the government’s effort for transparent and accountable governance.
The FBDEO covers the municipalities of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, Bokod and Kabayan.
By HENT
