5 million tourism fund asked to improve old town hall instead

SAGADA MOUNTAIN PROVINCE -  A 5 million  peso tourism building is being questioned for being  projected to be built in front of the municipal building posing  traffic  gridlock and  congestion.

A resolution from the Sangguniang Bayan here asked   the Tourism  Infrastructure And Enterprise Zone Authority  (TIEZA to  reprogram the  5 million peso tourism fund sourced from said agency for the construction of a tourist information center and comfort room in front of the new municipal building to the improvement of the  old municipal  hall  to house said tourism facility instead.

This, as former vice mayor Richard Yodong asked  Department of Tourism  (DOT) Secretary Ramon Jimenez to  realign the  P15 million TIEZA fund for the municipality’s  tourism-related projects to the development of  the Mission Compound  further saying that that projected site for the tourism building is “misplaced”.  

One of the projects jointly identified with the  mayor’s office and the Sanguniang Bayan is  the construction of a comfort room and a Tourism Information Center worth P5 million from TIEZA’s grant of 15 million pesos.

The SB noted that  construction of said structure allows the crowding of the  town hall with nearby buildings thus creating  congestion and unsightly scene in the center of the town and further leads to occurrence of  traffic issues.

A resolution in 2013  was issued by the former SB authorizing  Mayor Eduardo Latawan to  enter into a Memorandum of Agreement  (MOA) for the implementation of identified projects following  letter from TIEZA that revised plans  have been approved after the SB Resolution  in 2012  asked that bidding be  suspended  due to   difference  on project  listing  between the  SB and the Mayor’s Office.  The previous SB then  initiated the proposal  to TIEZA  in 2010 with identified project listings.

Bidding for the proposed projects funded by  TIEZA have already been conducted  following the lifted by the current  legislative body in a resolution superseding the 2012  SB’s suspension of  bidding.

Other projects sourced from the 15 million TIEZA  fund  were bidded September  2015  aside from the  tourism building. These are the construction of comfort rooms  near  Sumaguing Cave, Bangaan, Bumod-ok Falls, and Kiltepan Viewpoint; landscaping of Municipal Park; installation of guard rails at Echo Valley; improvement of pathway to Bokong Falls and Bomod-ok Falls, health and safety program,  and  signages.

link here too  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2015/11/15/sagada-council-wants-p5m-tourism-center-realigned-441697

12M Poblacion road widening to be bidded by DPWH

SAGADA, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE-   Bidding for the widening of the road in the central business area of this tourist town shall soon be bidded before the year ends by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 

Mountain Province – DPWH District Engineer Wilbur Likigan said the road widening project costing 12 million pesos  is scheduled  to be bidded November  24 this year.

Measuring some 300 linear meters, the 3 -lane road widening is projected to cover  near the Omaweng’s residence at Nangonogan sitio to the central Poblacion area near the Centrum building and located within the Mission Compound.

Said proposed and projected road widening came  in the midst of the  previous controversial and opposed road diversion project  which cuts across some portions of the  Mission Compound located in threatened karst geographical locations including a sinkhole.

Said diversion road proposed in 2013 by the municipal local government unit and another in 2014 endorsed by the Standing Committee of the  Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines (EDNP) having titled property to the Mission Compound  was then designed to address traffic issues in the center of the town especially during peak tourism seasons. 

Likigan said the projected road widening to begin construction by 2016 is not a parking space.

Meantime, a request for the opening of  a parking lot a at sitio Tangeb  reached the Vestry  of the Church of St Mary the Virgin  (CSMV) in a letter- request by Dagdag residents earlier noted in a barangay assembly in 2014, further affirmed in the barangay’s  August 2015 assembly and passed in a resolution by the barangay officials.

The proposed opening of a parking lot at Tangeb inside the  Mission Compound  refers to a same  entrance and exit  towards the busy Daoangan road which covers a section of the 13 kilometer Dantay-Sagada national road.

The opening of parking spaces is a crucial need  in this part of the town where most  business establishments are found especially inns, restos and souvenir shops./MtProvince Exponent 11-15-2015

2 BUB farm to market roads up for probe

SAGADA, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE- Two  farm to market roads here under the Bottom up Budgetting (BUB) for  investigation reached focal person for Mountain Province Lynn Madalang.

Questions on status of implementation and process on project identification were asked by petitioners on farm to market roads  Ato-Engan located at Patay Poblacion  and Canipawan-Mabbay implemented by the  Sagada local government.

Some 15 farmers and residents here questioned alleged double funding of  P350,000  for the Canipawan –Mabbay farm to market road and a P350,000 for Ato- Engan Patay FMR  sourced from the 2013 BUB  listed projects allotted for said  roads.

Left with no riprap constructed , the residential house above donated
portion of the road is prone to landslide

An initial P3.5 million programmed  for the Canipawan-Mabbay  FMR  was sourced from a  P10 million pesos reportedly realigned  from the 15 million peso Pamana funds supposedly for  the Madongo-Tanulong FMR.

Also, the amount of  P3.5 million  was  allotted for the Ato-Engan FMR with funds sourced from the same ‘realigned’ 10 million peso Pamana funds earlier budgeted for the P15 million Tanulong-Madongo FMR. 

A P1.3 million was again programmed for the Ato-Engan FMR from the 2014 BUB listed funded projects. 

The  10 million peso fund  realigned from the P15 million Tanulong-Madongo  FMR sourced from Pamana funds in 2013-2014  was programmed for  Anga-ang – Angtin  Madongo FMR at  P3.5 million, Canipawan-Mabaay  FMR at P3.5 million, and Ato-Engan  FMR  at P3 million nd bidded out by the Department of Agriculture in 2013.

The owner of the donated lot complains why no steps
were constructed to add to the uncoontinued parapet.  

The  petitioners ask where the P350,000 BUB listed fund was worked on and the P3.5 million at the same Canipawan-Mabbay FMR project.

FMR  implementors don't care if  rain will
splatter down  the premises of residential house nearby 

Petitioners also asked where  the  P350,000 and P1.3 million BUB listed fund worked on at the same Ato-Engan FMR where the realigned P3.5 million PAMANA fund was allotted for.

Identification of said projects was asked how  the BUB listed projects were picked out  when other  Civil Society Organizations  (CSOs) have their respective income generating proposals to answer intentions of the BUB mechanism to address poverty alleviation and job generation.

Petitioners  ask  that the projects be investigated suggesting substandard work with cracks on the already implemented Ato-Engan FMR.

Obviously substandard work with buttered add-on cement
and uneven  pavement

No railings

BUB  listed projects  are financed by various agencies depending on what project it is. Roads, pathways and waterworks   are financed by the  Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG),  school-based  projects by the Department of  Education (DEpED),  skills trainings by the  Technical  Skills  Development  Authority (TESDA),   communal  irrigation systems l by the  Department of Agriculture,  tourism related  projects by the  Department of Tourism (DOT), and micro enterprise projects by the Department of  Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

BUB  ensures funding for the development needs of localities in the budget proposals of participating national government agencies; and the process of project identification involving representatives from the  government and CSOs.

The once beautiful fence was destroyed and interlinks
unrestored to the ire of the owner who complained to the implementing
Department of Agriculture and Local Government Unit of Sagada. 

The process intends to provide funding for projects to provide basic social services,  mitigate hunger, generate jobs, and disaster preparedness.

Lousy drainage. Water shall get pooled here
for whatever purpose 

Projects not allowed under the  BUB listing as contained in the 2015 guidelines are those below 500,000 pesos  as these  can be proposed as LGU  implemented projects,  expansion of Pantawid Pamilya Program, housing Projects, materials recovery facility and landfills, vaccination and  health insurance programs, construction of new school buildings and classrooms nd clinics, farm-to-market roads, construction of municipal halls and  training centers, and purchase of motor vehicles.

Earlier guidelines did not identify  farm to markets roads as unallowed projects. The 2015 guidelines specially identified  FMR as not allowed  projects as these are too costly for the limited  funds under BUB listing. ( April 5, 2015 Mountain Province Exponent)

Revisiting the Dantay-Sagada road and calls to probe road works

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

Dantay- Sagada road still show defects, repairs unaccepted

Sagada, Mountain Province- Cracks and substandard work remains to be visible along the million peso Dantay-Sagada road works despite correction measures done by contractors. Mountain Province District Engineering Office (MPDEO) district assistant Engr Charles Sokoken said no certificate of acceptance yet has been given to BMK/ETLatawan Construction on repair works it did along the 48 million peso upgrading road project four years ago.

DPWH rules provide a five year warranty for construction companies to perform remove and repair works within the contract budget. 

The 48 million peso road works by BMK /E Latawan Construction was implemented 2011 and finished 2012. 

Other defects- cracks on the pavement, scaling and unfinished parapets- are noted along the Dantay- Sagada road implemented by BLC and KVC Construction along the stretch of the national road despite earlier correction measures that contractors had done along the main road that reaches the tourist town of Sagada.


And despite uncorrected road defects, Benguet-based KVC is currently doing another 7 million peso project constructing a gabion below the road after Dapdapanan sitio along with widening works supposedly to have been finished ending 2014. 


A total of 181 million have already been programmed and contracted out along a 9 kilometer section of the total 13 kilometer Dantay-Sagada road since 2010.

Sokoken said no certificate of acceptance has been given to the construction companies yet on their repair and replace works. (Mountain Province Exponent,January 11,2015) 

This when-will- it-be-finished kontrata along the Dantay-Sagada road is seemingly waiting for another round of  project funds to continue the earlier 5 million and now  7 million peso project supposedly to have been completed ending 2014.