Boasaw waterworks slippage, garbage dump

HAPPY WEEKEND 

Gina Dizon

SAGADA Mountain Province -- The  P36 million Boasaw waterworks project  sourced from the 18 million priority development assistance  funds of Senator TeofistoGuingona 111 and  P18 million from the Cordillera  Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project  (CHARMP),  is not going to see a drop of water  reaching the water-needy Poblacion  Sagada this summer season  as expected. 

Bidded out to Cotabato-based FFJJ Construction in December 2011 by the  government unit of Sagada with a 320 day  contract period,  the project should have been  completed January of  2013, the project having a starting period  February of 2012.   It’s now April of 2013 with roughly 98% slippage rate of the contract project to base on February as the starting period of  the project.  

Engr. Felimon Salvador of CHARMP said  the Municipal Monitoring Group  asked for an extension for the project  to start August of 2012 from  February 2012  due to earlier questioned technical issues  of why the project only ends in Kapinitansitio and not reach PoblacionSagada as intended to be in the very first place, aside from other  questioned material specifications  during  a  clarification meeting  with the Sangguniang Bayan of this LGU where some technical  discrepancies were  revealed.

The request for extension  means the 320 day contract project  shall be finished by June 2013. It’s now April 2013 short of two months or 60 days before the contract work is projected to end.   Where is the P36 million project now?

A  400 meter tunnel of the waterworks project is currently being worked out to  let  a   6 inch pipe pass through. Tunnel is now 80% complete according to  JerrryTicag, supervising  staff of the tunnel construction.  

Tunnel construction composes  3% of the total project.    Bulk of the project goes to piping works intended to reach households of  Poblacion areas of Patay passing  through Dagdag, Demang and on to Ambasing barangay.

Ticag said laborers had not been regularly  reporting at the tunnel site as the place  is extremely cold. There are only six laborers working the tunnel. And was the number of laborers calculated to be only six. Why not more than six so that the work could be hastened? Ticag said  tunneling work is a skilled job and there are only “few” workers to do the job.

Construction stopped  October last year with no laborers reporting  and resumed January this year, Ticag said. The source of the  Boasaw waterworks is located in a mossy forest  claimed  to be within the territory of Aguid of  Sagada and Agawa of  adjacent Besao municipality and  where cradles waters intended to be channeled to Sagada..

The Boasaw waterworks  dubbed  Improvement of  Buasao  Irrigation System and Construction of  Tanulong  Tribe Irrigators Association Water Services is meant to  service  domestic water supply of 15 barangays of Sagada and  irrigation waters  of  Tanulong. 

And that is where the long delayed waterworks finds itself now while awaiting when the long awaited Boasaw waters shall finally reach SagadaPoblacion.

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With  some  30,000 tourists and more  unregistered visitors  who  conduct their conference here in this tourist  town of Sagada, expect garbage management,  good traffic, reasonable water supply and accommodation  to be in top form.

Ironically, it is not.Since the number of tourists  doubled  in the past ten  years  largely due to  the  inviting potential of Sagada’s  ecological spots as  rice terraces, waterfalls,  eco trails, and its cool weather,  addressing twin issues has not moved an inch.    

The local leadership has not been responsive enough in addressing issues of tourism since he assumed office in 2004. 

Garbage continues to be strewn on the streets, rivers and pathways.  The town’s leadership has not established the much  awaited materials recovery facility (MRF) at Makamkamlis despite this already initiated with a building and a water tank by the  Sangguniang Bayan. A pulverizer was budgetted to complete  the nonfunctional   MRF  and that was three months ago when  garbage went  odious all the way to Calvary Hill. Where is the pulverizer is now the question.

With the decision of the  Vestry of the Church of St Mary the Virgin to finally close the dump site  used by the local LGU  by  end of  March according to  senior warden  Patrick Pooten, the  local leadership has no other way but to  establish a  solid waste management  system not  threatening to the environment and to  health.

Let’s talk about parking and traffic.

Since the parking lot at sitio Makamkamlis has been initiated two years ago by the  local legislative council, no effort had been done to continue this by the implementing  branch of the local  leadership despite favorable response of the church Vestry use of church properties for public purposes such as parking areas.

Traffic  jams continue during tourist  peak seasons  such as  the end of  December, first week of  February during the Etag Festival, Lenten season, and  All Saints Day in November, unless and  until a responsive  traffic and local road system shall be in place.    

It is  amusing to note how  NO Parking signs are  painted on the  streets but this does not solve the problem basically  because there is no other space to park on save for narrow streets.

Children, passersby and even motorists continue to be endangered. Unless something is done to alleviate the problem. And this means opening spaces of the church lot  to accommodate   parking areas apart from already used spaces. And a political will to see and let it happen.

Traffic and garbage problems aside from lack of water are twin concerns of any tourist place and these are  issues the town’s leadership has to address, by all means. 

This, apart from  having a better and   accommodating  tourist information center to cater to tourism services such as information and a relaxing space for visitors  have a seat having come all the way from another country and the lowlands, while waiting for one’s turn to pay environmental fees .

With how the present  tourism office looks like located in a dingy and cramped small space  under the stairway looking like a bus ticket booth, you will wonder why there is no other better office that  greets tourists  who  bring the bulk of economy  to town where sources the major source of livelihood among the people especially in the Poblacion area.   

Otherwise, this current town leadership beckons a moment to ponder on.