BAGUIO CITY – Members of the City Council took turns in criticizing officials of the regional and district offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the delayed implementation and poor quality infrastructure projects in the different parts of the city that is now causing tremendous traffic congestions and inconvenience to the motoring and commuting public.
The council expressed disappointment over the repeated failure of the regional and district offices of the DPWH to closely coordinate with the local government, public utility companies and other sectors will be affected by programmed infrastructure projects in the city to avoid perennial traffic jams and inconvenience to the public.
Worst, the council stated the DPWH offices seem to take for granted the local government and the public in the implementation of projects by refusing to work round-the-clock that would have shortened the inconvenience suffered by the public, thus, the need for concerned agencies and offices to now strictly impose adherence to the timeline and the programs of work by contractors.
Engr. Edgardo Enriquez, assistant chief of the DPWH-CAR’s planning and design division, apologized to the members of the council and the public for the current tremendous traffic congestions around the central business district and other barangays and the inconvenience to the public caused by the simultaneous implementation of their various programmed public works projects due to the late inception in consideration of the agency’s adherence to the request of the local government not to implement their works during the peak tourism months of February up to May.
He revealed the completion of the drainage system project along Abanao St. will be completed by the end of this week; the project along Gov. Pack road in front of the Baguio City National High School (BCNHS) will be finished by August 15, while the drainage project along Harrison road, particularly in the night market area, will be completed by August 25.
The council reminded the DPWH offices to strictly oblige their contractors to install the billboards within their project sites to inform the public what agency is in charge of the project and if there are any complaints about the performance of contractors, then the public can get directly get in touch with the concerned agency and not direct these to the local government.
Enriquez informed the councilors that the regional and district offices of the DPWH already issued appropriate directives to the concerned contractors for them to complete their projects on time or else the agencies will be compelled to impose the appropriate liquidating damages against the erring contractors.
On the issue raised against the failure of contractors to install the mandatory billboards on their project sites, Enriquez confirmed that some contractors have failed to comply with this requirements, thus, the need to institute the necessary penalties against the erring contractors.
By Dexter A. See
