Road contract projects / Titling public school sites

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred Dizon

During another of our roadside talks, our perennially drunk neighborhood philosopher said, of course, road contract projects, particularly those undergoing “reblocking” are a means of government to spend money and boost the economy, but then, these could create mayhem. (Reblocking, he said, is the process of destroying good roads to make them “good,” then destroy these again in a few months,    to make them good once more.)

He was reacting to what he was seeing on a sari-sari store television screen with Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan saying he ordered the stoppage of road projects along Halsema Highway at km 6 in La Trinidad, Benguet saying traffic gridlock reached often as far as Tomay, at least three kilometers away due to construction projects.  

Fongwan was complaining the contractor was slow in finishing the project considering it was started months before and motorists and commuters have had to bear heavy traffic from km 6 up to Tomay. According to Fongwan Highways officials didn't coordinate with the provincial government so plans could be made to ease traffic.

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Actually, everywhere nationwide, this is what is happening, our philosopher said, like what is happening in adjacent Baguio City where officials are saying additional civil works in the mountain resort will surely impact on the public if no coordination is made.

He may be right as Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan said himself planned additional road and drainage works are set to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

“We should improve our coordination efforts with all the agencies involved so projects will go smoothly and we minimize inconveniences that might impact on our constituents,” Domogan told city hall press conference.

He said Baguio is expecting a budget of P700 million allocated by the national government for infrastructure projects in the city and priority is improvement of drainage system and road “re-pavement.” 

“Importante coordination, I hope they will do that,” he said.

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According to Domogan, inconvenience can be avoided if projects already bid out will be implemented by contractors who have enough manpower and resources to do the job.

“I am pleading to the DPWH, please see to it that contractors who are awarded with projects are those who have a proven track record, competent and with complete equipment,” Domogan said. “We support these road improvement projects because it will redound to the benefit of our constituents but they should see to it that it is finished within the given time frame.”

He said arrangements had been made for contractors to work 24-hours on critical areas and fast-track road repairs to lessen inconveniences to the public, employ latest technology or additives available to hasten curing period and employ enough men to work. 

“Dapat hindi  muna bigyan ng project yung mga contractor na may pending projects, dapat hindi sila ang priority sa bidding,” Domogan said. Alam naman natin na magkukulang ng man-power ang contractor kung bibigyan mo sila ng tatlong project nasabaysabay, kakasya ba yung kanyang equipment, yun yung nakikita natin na cause nang delay.”

Of course we need this projects kaya nga kailangan na magtulungan tayo, how to implement it properly, huwag

na man yungmabagal at puro delay,” Domogan said.

The contracts are expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, like elsewhere in the country, residents are gripingover slow pace of road construction projects. As our neighborhood philosopher said, progress comes with a price   like unwritten moolah.

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Sen. ChizEscudero is pushing for summary titling of all lands where public schools are situated after latest statistics from the Department of Education showed that there are still a number of untitled and unregistered school sites throughout the country.

Escudero, who recently assumed the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources after giving up the finance panel, has put forward Senate Bill No. 1730, or the act providing summary titling of real properties used as public school sites, to ensure the government has legal ownership over these lands to avoid potential property disputes.

He noted that “public school sites have always been subjected to property disputes, frequent transfer of location, revocations of donations of lands where they are situated, and urban planning and development programs of the local government units (LGUs).” 

“These legal disputes hinder the adequate education of our youth. It has negative impacts on the overall development of the nation in tapping and harnessing the talents of the Filipino youth, if schools, considered as their second abode, is constantly threatened with legal disputes and uncertainties,” he said in press statement sent to the Northern Philippine Times. 

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DepEd data shows that as of 2015, it owns a total of 48, 740 school sites all over the country, but only 36, 258 of these have ownership or occupation documents under the DepEd s name.

In most cases, Escudero said, public schools sites are owned by LGUs or are subject to long-term lease agreements with private individuals. In some cases, parcels of lands were donated but lacked the proper legal documentation and support on the transfer of ownership.

“We have seen and heard cases that upon the death of the donors, heirs claim ownership of the land through revocation of the original donation. These result to endless court litigations,” Escudero said. “The passage of this bill will pave the way for simplifying the process of land titling registration of almost 90 percent of school sites in favor of the DepEd.”

Once passed, the measure will cover all sites of public schools utilized for five years under the DepEd, such as public domain lands and those which are owned, whether registered or otherwise by persons or entities other than the education department.

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This will also enable school authorities to have direct control and supervision over these lands. In the same hearing of the environment committee on Wednesday, Escudero asked the DepEd to consider geohazard zones and multihazard mapping when acquiring school sites in order to ensure the safety of students.

He also told the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) that his committee will also look into its request to include state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the proposal pending submission of pertinent data information.

According to Escudero, this measure is one of 38 pending bills being heard by the environment committee, which is now being consolidated by a technical working group.