Ebdane dispatches fact-finding team: ‘Anomalous’ Halsema road projects probe on

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- A monitoring and fact-finding team dispatched by Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. is now checking the alleged anomalous implementation of multi-million flagship projects of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Mountain province, particularly in the remaining two phases of the Halsema highway rehabilitation project.

The team has gone over files at the regional office of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways in Baguio and interviewed officials and personnel suspected to have been involved in the anomalies amid reports that DPWH officials have been receiving huge kickbacks from contractors.

Some contractors have complained they had no recourse but give grease money to legislative and DPWH officials so that they would be the ones to implement the projects.

But the “favored” contractors were reportedly able to get their 15 percent mobilization fund from the government out of the total cost of the projects. Some projects have reportedly expired without work being done while the others had negative slippages.

Other contractors, who claimed they were unduly eased out from bidding processes said most DPWH projects were haphazardly done without following project specifications as the officials got a sizable part of the money which should have been used for the projects.

Ebdane’s directive came after President Arroyo cited in her State of the Nation Address that she wanted the rehabilitation of the Halsema highway linking this mountain resort city, Benguet, Mountain province and Ifugao to Region II fastracked.

The monitoring and fact-finding team is tasked to come out with its findings and recommendations on how to improve the reported poor performance of contractors in their assigned works.

Earlier, the DPWH Secretary ordered regional, district and technical personnel of the agency and construction stakeholders to correct the defects discovered by the quality assurance unit in a surprise inspection conducted in the project site.

However, several complaints from disgruntled individuals and contractors continued to plague the DPWH office the past several weeks, thus, Ebdane was forced to dispatch a new mission to validate such reports.

Engr. Mariano Alquisa, DPWH-CAR regional director, disclosed there is nothing to worry about the reported defects in the projects because it will be completed on time despite the negative slippages in several packages of the projects.

He said the few delays in other packages of the remaining two phases of the project are caused by road-right-of-way problems coupled with the unpredictable weather condition in the area but all efforts are being exerted by those concerned to settle all problems arising from the implementation of the projects.

It was learned that Alquisa recently ordered several contractors of concreting works in the Mount Data, Bauko to Bontoc section of the road to remove and replace a portion of the paved area which they implemented because it failed to pass the standards.

“We mean business here. We do not want the priority project of the President to be sub-standard, thus, we are working very hard to ensure that the works are done properly,” he said.

Alquisa said complaints on the anomalous implementation of the projects along the Halsema road were harassment against them and some politicians because their earlier contracts were terminated +due to poor performance in project implementation coupled with political color because they were not able to make it during the recently-concluded May 14, 2007 mid-term elections.

He appealed to the people for patience and understanding on the defects of the ongoing implementation of the project since they are doing their best to complete the projects on time.

The national government has released around P340 million for the rehabilitation of the Mount Data, Bauko to Bontoc section and another P189 million for the Bontoc, Mountain province to Banaue, Ifugao section of the Halsema highway.

Rep. Victor Dominguez and Gov. Maximo Dalog of Mountain Province lauded President Arroyo for being the only Chief Executive that has given utmost priority for the complete rehabilitation of the Halsema highway in a bid to spur economic development in the far flung communities of the country pursuant to her Super Region program. – AD and Dexter A. See