Here is Ben O. Tesornia's Sunstar's story today:
Delay in Bankerohan bridge construction dismays mayor
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte expressed exasperation over the very much-delayed construction of the
In his television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" Sunday, Duterte held his hands up signifying his frustration for the said project that is being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
"Ambot kinsa'y akong pangutan-on ana. I'm really at a loss for an explanation. I simply do not know what's causing the delay," Duterte said.
The city mayor explained that the said project is being handled by the National Government and not the City Government since the said bridge is part of a national road.
He said the law prohibits the City Government to spend for projects under the National Government.
Duterte said until now he still has not seen any physical activity going on in the area contrary to statements of officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that the actual construction would start by December 2007 and end by May 2008.
Duterte said he already asked help from no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to fast track the bridge construction, but the President's order seems to fall on deaf ears.
Sun.Star Davao tried getting reaction from officials of the DPWH Southern Mindanao, but in vain.
And here is Edith Regalado's Philippine Star story also today:
Duterte to DPWH: Where’s the new bridge?
“I am at a loss for words how to explain to the people how many times I have asked the national government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) about the construction of a new bridge. But still, until now, not a single work has been started,” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said.
The
Duterte said President Arroyo, in a visit here last year, told him that the construction of the new bridge could be delayed to correct an alleged anomaly in the project.
“But until now, we are still waiting for the DPWH to work on the bridge,” Duterte said, citing earlier reported claims by the department that the project would be finished by April this year.
Duterte explained that there is a law that prohibits local government units to intervene in projects implemented on national roads and even on barangay roads.
“We do not have control over national roads and it so happened that the bridge is part of a national road and is supposed to be a national project,” he said.
Even if the city government has the money to construct a new bridge, Duterte said it still could not do so because of such a prohibition.
He said the city government could not proceed with its ongoing traffic signalization project because of an important connection that the new bridge would provide.
“The city could source out money on its own but the problem is the bridge is on a national road, hence, the DPWH should take care of it as the law provides,” he said.
4 comments:
Peter, a law is crafted for the benefit of the people. If a law stands in the way of people's benefit, do we just sit back? The President and DPWH loose credibility with the continued lack of action. However, the bigger loosers (the greatest number) are the citizens who have been severly affected by this. How many citizens does Davao have? If each one puts aside 1 peso (P1.00) per day for 365 days, we would have enough to pay for that bridge from our own pockets, right? So, lets do that and have our own City Engineers office do the job starting today!
If the bridge can't be constructed because it passes through a national road. Then do the following:
* Construct a local road that connects to the national road
* Construct the bridge on the local road.
I can not understand this penchant for saying that we can not do anything because it is a "national" road. If you go to Tagum City, you will see work on the "national" road going on and the only sign that heralds this work is one that says: Project of the City of Tagum. If they can do it, why can't we?
Thanks for the comment of guillermo and bong all the way from the US.
I will post your comments so others will know because many times not all read the comments section.
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