DPWH: 98% Cordi road projs done; school buildings still 52 %

By Aldwin Quitasol

BAGUIO CITY -- Dept. of Public Works and Highways Cordillera regional director Nerrie Bueno said they are still constructing 485 kilometers of national roads in the region even as 52 percent of school buildings have been constructed.

She said the DPWH has also paved 1,931 km national roads and completed 91 percent or 1,671 with nine percent yet to be completed. Bueno said some of these are being “processed” because many local roads were converted to national roads making total length of the national roads in Cordillera to 2,247 km.

Bueno told a media forum on July 4 here because of such, their target of completing the road was extended in 2017. 

She said road constructions and other projects are sometimes not completed on target dates because of issues like the weather conditions, road rights of way and during election season.

Bueno also said out of their target of constructing around 111 school buildings, only 52% were accomplished.

She said that the Dept. of Education cannot just accept school buildings they are building if they are not complete.

She admitted late start of construction and late completion were due to  changing cost of materials.

She said that before, there was standard amount of project cost for each building that they needed to request for augmentation to complete buildings.

According to Bueno, this 2017, the government is now basing the funding from the actual amount to be spent for the constructing of each school building.

She said that this time, they do not have to wait for augmentation funds to complete the buildings.

On May or few days before the opening of classes on June, DepEd Cordillera officials said that there was a 59.24 percent deficit on the targeted classrooms for students especially for senior high school students in the region.

Bueno said that they are hoping to complete school buildings by the end of the year.