By Gina Dizon
SAGADA, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE -Cracks along the pavement
including scaling and ugly manicures on sections of the rehabilitated works
along the multi-million Dantay-Sagada road projects surely explains the reason
why no certificate of acceptance has yet
been given by the Department of Public
Works and Highways to repairs done by BMK/ETLatawan, KVC and BLC Construction
on their respective road work contracts along this stretch of the national road.
And so I came to know from Mountain Province Engineering District Office(MPDEO)
district Engr Charles Sokoken.
Otherwise face
consequences of being blacklisted from the roll of registered
contractors entitled to bid and be awarded contract projects under the DPWH,
said contractors having received directions from the DPWH have to do remove and replace works
within their contract budget or as circumstances warrant, do correction measures at their own
personal expense.
Unless there is a strong convincing reason such as a
natural cause that what is defective is not within the contractor’s liability
to correct the defect, and it is interesting to know if there is and what is
the cause. If there is.
In the light of this road scenario, concerned citizens
wrote a letter to DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson to do an investigation on the
multi-million road project implemented
since 2010.
Glaring cracks
visible along the road just above sitio Dantay are seen on the P48 million road
project done by BMK/ETLatawan who did
the road works in 2010 and completed in 2012. Its nearly five years the given warranty period and BMK/ETLatawan is not moving an inch to correct the defects.
Just pass by this road and see ugly sights including what seems to be
buttered black asphalt to correct what is seemingly defective.
So the DPWH and the Department of Tourism want
to build good, quality roads with international flavor to be met by contractors who do
defective work like what is obviously seen along the
Dantay-Sagada road. How else can you explain those cracks unless an expert will
say that is the work of the Unseen or a
natural cause.
It would note-worthy to
be reminded of the very beginnings of this road in the early 1900s when American missionary Engr John Staunton built what then served as
the main road to let the riding public
get their way to Sagada where locates the Anglican church called Church of St Mary the Virgin located
in the center of the town. So in recognizance of his pioneering work, the Sanggunian
Bayan of Sagada in 2005 passed a resolution which eventually led to the naming
of the national road as Rev. John
Staunton road.
Sagada since then became a prime tourist destination, a
shangrila of the north visited by backpacker- Caucasians in the 70s on to the 80s and now frequented
by droves of local tourists from Manila and other lowland areas of the country in the 90s on to the present to
get a feel of what is Sagada including its cool air and rich eco-cultural
endowments.
Their entrance to this shangrila of the north is none
other than through the rugged Dantay-Sagada road known for its winding and dusty conditions
especially during summer season.
The state of the
rugged road since then became rugged as what everyone has experienced,
commuters covering their noses and
their faces from dust that flies to the
very insides of busses and passenger
jeeps.
The road remained un-cemented for quite a long period of
time except for some asphalting in different times of the
year before concreting and widening was done in 2010.
Like how funds are finally budgeted and programmed, this
goes through pressures of resolutions and lobbying.
Regular funds from the
DPWH went to the improvement of the road with resolutions from the previous members of
the Sangguniang Bayan of Sagada in 2011 led
by former vice mayor Richard Yodong and a joint resolution from the SB of Sagada and Besao following the
unfortunate incident of the death of Pastor
Victor Batcagan and four others in a vehicular accident in 2009. The resolution
was then directed to the office of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
release funds for the rehabilitation of said road.
An earlier 20 million peso fund was given by Bayan
Muna plus 2 million from the priority development assistance funds of Senator
Francis Pangilinan in 2005 that
rehabilitated a 2 kilometer stretch from
sitio Mabbay on to Poblacion terminal.
Remove and replace instructions have been monitored with the contractor conscious enough to implement the necessary R and R measures.
Earlier endorsement for the way to be a national road from regional director of the department of
tourism director Purificacion Molintas eventually led to the passage of Department Order No. 20 issued by former DPWH
Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr stating the
Dantay-Sagada road is a vital access road to boost the tourism industry of
Sagada. So too with the endorsement of the Cordillera Regional Development
Council and former Presidential Assistant for Cordillera Affairs Thomas Killip.
And the rest is history with former president Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo having declared Dantay Sagada Road as a national road during
her visit in Sagada in 2008 with some pronouncement of fund support in what
led to the initial concreting at the Dantay junction.
From thence, initial funds from the regular budget of the DPWH have
been poured starting with the P48
million implemented by BMK/Latawan
followed by P32 million implemented
by BMK Construction winning the project
by a P28 million bid.
A total of P181
million have already been programmed and contracted out to cover a 9
kilometer section of the total 13 kilometer Dantay-Sagada road since 2010 to
companies namely BMK/ETLatawan, Tarlac-based BMK, Benguet-based KVC, and Baguio-based
BLC.
The P7 million
construction of a gabion at the watery curve near Dapdapanan sitio is
being done by KVC construction following
a P5 million initial work. The existing work is seemingly waiting for another
round of project funds having stopped
momentarily. How this when- will- it- be- finished-contract shall be finished is a question inviting anti-corruption advocates to know if there is something fishy
in the road work implementation.
A P7 million peso rehabilitation project is currently
being worked on by Bentrix construction involving the blasting of limestone
rocks along the road in Antadao covered by a certificate of non coverage (CNC)
issued by the regional Environment and Management Bureau of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Dantay-Sagada road has unfortunate stories of its own
having claimed lives which either may
be due to faulty breaks or road
conditions in the previous years.
The latest is the driver of Mayor Eduardo Latawan who died when the car
rolled down the banks of the Chico river during the time when the road was
being rehabilitated by BMK/ETLatawan
Construction sometime in 2011.
Pastor Victor Batcagan and his family were on their way
to Sagada last Oct. 31,2009 when their jeep fell down the road killing five
persons and injuring 11 others.
Nine passengers of a Besao-Bontoc jeepney died and nine
others were injured when the vehicle plunged down a 50-foot ravine along the
road at Sitio Pegeo in November 2007.
The driver of the ill-fated jeepney tried to maneuver the
vehicle off the very narrow portion of the road while on an uphill climb when
it fell down the ravine.
In the same year, engineer Tomas Lawagan bound to Besao
fell down the rice paddies towards the river in his Ford Fiera, along the
Sagada-Dantay Road.
In December 1996, a Besao- Bontoc jeep fell in the same
section of the road where the Batcagan jeep fell which led to the deaths of
seven teachers from Besao and injury to 13 others.
Building good roads is a must and let this be dedicated to the unfortunate victims
who perished along the Dantay-Sagada
road which may be either due to human error or to bad road conditions.
Too, building safe and quality roads gives due reference to
the efforts of former officials who wanted genuine development reach the
tourist town of Sagada and so too with the adjoining municipality of Besao. And
so too with President Benigno Aquino 111 flagship call for Matuwid na Daan.
Implementing a multi million peso road work just don’t happen. (Mountain Province Exponent, January 25,2015
No comments:
Post a Comment