Road woes

EDITORIAL

All over northern Luzon, if not the whole country, road construction projects are on with motorists griping over slow construction in some areas like Baguio where good roads were destroyed for “reblocking.”

The timing of these construction projects is auspicious, 2016 being election year. But then, if one asks the average person on the street, he would retort that you should know the answer – meaning, there is more on the part of government officials in being sincere in improving roads.

Despite pronouncements of Highways officials that “good” roads have to be replaced as these have “lifespans,”  the common tao knows that government officials want to spend taxpayers’ money, on the pretext of doing good for the people when the main reason is accompanying SOPs.

So for the populace, they just grin and bear it as wrecking crews tear up roads disrupting their routines while they have to bear heavy traffic. In some if not most instances, work is at snail’s pace even as some projects are being alleged as substandard.

Such topic is fodder for comments in public vehicles. Private engineers are saying roads could last longer and need not be torn apart to be replaced. The average man on the street is saying money allotted for road construction projects could have better been spent for livelihood projects for the poor.There are no public hearings before such road projects are started that even some officials are complaining themselves.

In Cordillera, Baguio, Benguet and tourism officials urged the Dept. of Public Works and Highways to make proper planning and necessary coordination before implementation of projects.

Road rehabilitation projects in in Baguio including central business started a week before Holy Week when tourists were expected to flock to the city.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said absence of close coordination between implementing agencies and city government coupled with inadequate information dissemination on simultaneous implementation of nationally-funded infrastructure projects were cited as major cause of tremendous traffic congestion in the city.

Domogan said the DPWH – Baguio City District Engineering Office and the winning contractors failed to coordinate with the city government and traffic officers as well as stakeholders to ease effects of diggings.

He said projects being implemented along national roads are nationally-funded and not city-funded, that is why the DPWH-BCDEO has the jurisdiction over said projects.  The Hotel and Restaurants Association of Baguio also expressed dismay with the timing of road rehabilitation works. 

Many visitors have canceled hotel reservations during the Holy Week due to news on traffic in the city including one-way traffic scheme of the Kennon Road imposed by the DPWH which resulted to heavy traffic and discouraged visitors from coming up to the city.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan also expressed resentment over lack of coordination by the DPWH when it implemented the one-way traffic experimental scheme in Kennon Road during Holy Week, adding he learned of experimental traffic scheme through media.

The governor said the scheme affected lives and created problems particularly with residents of barangays along Kennon Road.

While tourism industry stakeholders said they were toying with the idea of filing charges against the DPWH and contractors for loss of revenue, officials and stakeholders urged proper coordination before projects are implemented to avoid losses and inconvenience to residents and tourists. 

Indeed, implementation of such projects needs consultation and coordination.  But then, when lucre rears its ugly head, expect