ITOGON, Benguet – The municipal government wants all public works contractors to fast track the completion of various infrastructure projects being implemented in the different parts of the municipality soonest to avoid inconvenience to the public who are regularly traversing the roads where such projects are being done.
Mayor Bernard S. Waclin stated that the public works department should always make sure contractors awarded to implement such infrastructure projects should have sufficient units of equipment and personnel to ensure the speedy completion of programmed works, especially along busy roads in the different parts of the municipality, to prevent such works from being the subject of complaints by inconvenienced residents and motorists.
He reported that the municipal government had been receiving numerous complaints from residents and motorists on the alleged snail-paced implementation of the programmed works and the alleged poor workmanship that casts doubts on the quality of the projects.
Waclin raised his observation that there are project sites in the municipality that have very few workers which cause serious delays in their completion and often result to prolonged inconveniences among motorists and residents regularly using those roads.
On the other hand, the municipal chief executive claimed that the local government had also been receiving complaints from residents from some parts of the municipality on the alleged realignment of the funds earlier earmarked for road opening and road-opening projects but upon the conduct of necessary consultations with representatives from the petitioners and officials of the public works department, such funds had been restored to the project where it was originally intended.
According to him, the municipal government is striving in resolving problems that arise in the implementation of public works projects in the municipality but the issue is some of the complained projects are not within the jurisdiction of the municipality, thus, the best that local officials could do is to subject the same for consultations among the concerned parties for the settlement of disputes.
Waclin stated that the implementation of infrastructure projects by the concerned government agencies and the local government is part of countryside development but these must be done without inconveniencing the public, and at the very least, the projects must be implemented the soonest to lessen the problems encountered by the project implementors.
He assured that the municipal government is readily available to extend assistance to the government agencies and the contractors implementing various development projects in the municipality but agreements among parties should be complied with by the involved parties so that the people will not eventually lose their trust and confidence to the implementors.
The mayor appealed to residents and motorists to continue to be vigilant and monitor how projects are being implemented in their communities and bring to the attention of concerned authorities issues and concerns that must be acted on to ensure the good quality of completed projects in the locality.
