Man dies in open pit; DPWH execs grilled over risky diggings

BY JERRY PADILLA

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union- Provincial board members castigated two district engineers of the department of Public Works and Highways Thursday due to their negligence in implementing safety measures on massive diggings along the Manila-North Road in the province being conducted by a giant telecommunications company.

Vice Gov. Martin De Guzman also deferred the issuance of certificates of appreciation to engineers Virgilio Dacanay and Elpidio Paragas, heads of the DPWH’s two engineering districts in La Union respectively.

De Guzman said they failed to enforce some provisions of their contract with the contractor.
Dacanay and Paragas were at the session of the provincial board on Dec. 6 to clarify issues on the project because it caused the death of a resident.

Aside from this, De Guzman said the projects posed dangers to travelers and destroyed the environment.

De Guzman blamed Dacanay for not monitoring strictly the project in his area (2nd district) saying he was unaware that a man died in Bauang town after he was holed inside an open pit.
The pit was part of the project which is a meter away from the road where he was bumped by a tricycle.

“I think you are not going around with regard to the inspection of these diggings. You don’t even notice trees that are being cut by the contractors. And to inform you, the pit where the victim was thrown, was at the tip of the highway,” De Guzman told Dacanay.

Dacanay said he had issued several notices to the contractor to comply with the safety agreements but board members noticed that his orders were ignored and no action was taken.