Baguio infrastructure projects now better

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Two years after implementing the inspection-first and no-quality-no-payment rule for city-funded projects, City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña reported a dramatic improvement in the quality of civic works and infrastructure projects being undertaken in the city.
    During the management committee meeting Oct. 25, Dela Peña said the recent routine final inspections they had conducted in the past months with Mayor Benjamin Magalong showed vast upgrade in the workmanship of the projects which proves that contractors have taken seriously the city's requirement to strictly comply with the project specifications to deliver only quality outputs.
    Dela Peña said their most recent inspection last Oct. 22 had them checking out a total of 28 projects located in different parts of the city and all of these got a passing mark.
    "It was tiring but fulfilling for the team led by our mayor.  The transformation of the quality of workmanship from not-so-good to excellent is really amazing," he said recalling their past encounters with poorly executed and substandard projects when they were just starting.
    He said that when inspections started as a new city procedure, a lot of projects received failing marks for non-compliance with the specifications.
    These projects were not accepted and instead, the contractors were ordered to rectify the errors and supply the deficiencies.
    He said the desired change in mindset as advocated by the mayor was not achieved overnight but it was worth all the effort of the city through the offices of the City Engineering under City Engr. Edgar Victorio Olpindo, City Environment and Parks and Management Office under Atty. Rhenan Diwas and the City Buildings and Architecture Office under Arch. Johnny Degay in collaboration with the Dept. Public Works and Highways regional office and city district engineering office.
    The final inspection routine began on Oct. 30, 2019 as part of protocol to ensure quality of the projects before accepting and issuing payments to contractors. -