District DPWH no hand 

in highway re-blocking 

TAGBILARAN CITY, May 8 (PIA)--Liquefaction of the stabilized road base could be the reason why the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has to implement immediate repairs over several highway sections in Bohol, District Engineer (DE) Francis Antonio Flores presumed. 

Although these repairs are implemented by the DPWH Central Office to salvage road sections from further damage, these are done after verification by the regional office, Engr Flores quickly added. 

He stressed that his office has no direct control over these repairs. 

Speaking to clarify the government's position in the much criticized re-blocking of the road section in Montaña in Baclayon and elsewhere along the circumferential road belting Bohol. Engr. Flores added that projects like these are beyond the District's control. 

Summoned by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, in a meeting presided by Board member Vincenzo Arcamo, the DPWH through DE Flores explained DPWH policies in implementing projects, especially on national government funded roads and highways. 

The summons came after legislator Board Member and lawyer Tomas Abapo brought to the provincial junta the complaints of commuters and motorists inconvenienced by the road repairs that include re-blocking of road stretches which appear to be whimsical waste of taxpayer's money. 

At the committee hearing held at the SP Pre-Conference Hall May 8, the district engineer for Bohol's First Engineering District bared of the DPWH's highway design management program which is on its 4th cycle of implementation. 

Under the program, the DPWH deploys a visual highway monitoring team which walks along the line, checking on the highway's lanes, marking sections of any road anomaly, any sign of faulting or any sign of deteriorating road base, the soft-spoken engineer said. 

This is reported to the central office where the data is encoded into an automated road maintenance system; a computerized program that automatically puts in a budget required for the repairs, he told the gathering of public works authorities and citizens bringing in the same complaints. 

Asked if the DE has a hand in any of these, he clarified that since these are implemented by the DPWH Central office, it is the regional office that verifies the highway monitoring management team's reports to the Central Office, and implies that the call comes from there. 

As to the case of Montaña in Baclayon, Engr. Flores said he believes the 2013 earthquake has affected the highway sub-base which has also triggered the repairs. 

The repairs, DPWH defended by saying that these had to be done to arrest the problem and save the highways from further damage when left unattended. 

Years back, the stretch in nearby Laya was also re-blocked as some of the highway slabs raised while some dipped making the ride unpleasant. 

But as to Montaña, commuters claimed that the same stretch now repaired was just newly repaired and was less than a year old before another fleet of road construction equipment started pounding and punching holes into the thick concrete road sections including the road shoulders, commented Atty. Ted Lagang in his social media account. 

Along with the Montaña section are also ongoing and already delayed repairs of kilometer stretches of highway in Tocdog in Loay, in Catugasan in Lila, in Candijay, in Ubay. 

According to DPWH, the abandoned stretch in Loay is because somebody whom the DPWH did not name, accordingly asked to delay the repair until after the fiesta. 

"Why reblock when these stretches show no problems, while there are far more numerous sections most needing the repairs?," netizens ask. 

Engr. Flores also revealed that the budget for these repaired road sections are funded by the national government, and that these funds could not be used to fund provincial, municipal or barangay roads, as some people implied in their complaints. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

DPWH District 1 Engineer Francis Antonio Flores said the road-reblocking projects are implemented and supervised by the DPWH Central Office, and these are implemented following an automated program that allocates the DPWH funds based on actual road surveys by Central Office teams. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)