Ilocos execs oppose Cordi DPWH chief’s transfer to region: Solon slams anomalous Cordillera road projects

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The alleged anomalous implementation of maintenance works along national roads in this vegetable-producing province has deprived other secondary national arterial roads the needed maintenance works for the benefit of the motoring public, particularly the farmers bringing their products to the trading post here.

This was bared by Rep. Samuel M. Dangwa who criticized the Cordillera office of the Department of Public Works and Highways for alleged anomalous maintenance works which led to the waste of millions of pesos in public funds.

An example cited by the lawmaker as anomalous is the untimely asphalt overlay implemented by the maintenance people of the regional DPWH along the newly-concreted portions of Marcos highway which should not be the case because it has just been paved.

Worst, he claimed the asphalt overlay was done without consultation with concerned local officials, who could have recommended a better form of maintenance work along other roads in the province under the jurisdiction of the DPWH.

If the maintenance people of the DPWH continue with such kind of attitude, he said they do not deserve to be occupying their respective positions since they do not know how to coordinate their respective works with the affected local government units for consultation purposes.

Dangwa said he does not want roads in Benguet to become like what the roads in the central business district of Baguio City had experienced last year, where the new asphalt overlay, not reaching even one month in existence, was scoured by the rains because of poor quality of work supervised by the maintenance people of the DPWH-CAR. The damaged asphalt overlay resulted to rough patches forming on the road, which was much to the detriment and disappoint of the citizenry.

Instead of prioritizing asphalt overlay, guard rails and paintings, the lawmaker suggested maintenance work must also be concentrated in other national roads in Benguet such as the Benguet side of the Halsema highway, the Acop-Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun and Gorel-Bokod-Kabayan-Abatan secondary national arterial roads where more maintenance work is needed rather than concentrating the works along Marcos highway and Kennon road.

Dangwa called on Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. to exercise wise decision-making in choosing people to lead the Cordillera DPWH. The lawmaker said he would like to discourage the secretary from assigning people who have tainted track records, especially in relation to ghost projects in the past, to critical leadership positions.

The appeal of Dangwa was also supported by concerned construction industry stakeholders who claimed this year is a critical year for the implementation of projects in the region.

“Ebdane must choose the right people to handle the Arroyo administration’s projects or else the President’s commitments will just be sacrificed with poor management and unwise decision-making among leaders. The duly-elected leaders and other concerned officials, who are really informed of what their respective jurisdiction needs, must be properly consulted for the interest of the general public,” he said.

In San Fernando City, Abono party-list chairman Engineer Rosendo O. So expressed opposition to the transfer of Alquiza to the Region 1 DPWH office based in this city. Other Ilocs regional officials aired the same stand.

So said here Thursday the designation by DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. of Alquiza as the top official of DPWH in Region I is "a wrong move."

“Secretary Ebdane may appoint anyone to the Region 1 post but not Alquiza,” So said.

Abono party-list members in the Cordillera are also interposing their objection to the appointment of Alquiza as Region 1 DPWH director due to reports of alleged irregularities in the implementation of Kalinga projects, So said.

Questions had earlier been raised over the implementation of the Mt. Data-Bontoc and Bontoc-Banawe sections of the Halsema Highway improvement project and the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road rehabilitation.

The chairman of Abono party-list said complaining farmers are adversely affected due by the reported defects of the road projects.

So said Alquiza must explain why he should not face charges in connection with the report of a watchdog in Kalinga."Hindi pa siya dapat ilipat at harapin niya ang mga reklamo sa kanya ng mga mamamayan ng Cordillera," So said.

So also said he learned some congressmen in the Cordillera are seeking the retention of Alquiza in their region.

The congressmen reportedly claimed there was no prior consultation with them on the transfer of the official.

They asked President Arroyo to instruct Ebdane to recall the order designating Alquiza as Region 1 DPWH director. – With reports from Dexter See and Jerry Padilla