One big, bad joke along ‘daan na matuwid’
I read the report of Kristine Felisse Mangunay on the case filed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) against a district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways for “unauthorized reblocking along C5.” (“DPWH man sued for ‘unauthorized reblocking,’” Metro, 9/25/14).
Mangunay reported that “according to (MMDA Chair Francis) Tolentino, the reblocking project on the northbound section of the C5 Bagong Ilog flyover… resulted in heavy traffic in Pasig City… all the way to Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.”
If the report is accurate, then the MMDA chair is wrong. It is not the “northbound section,” but the southbound section that can cause traffic up to Katipunan Avenue (backflow).
If it is the northbound section, then traffic would be in the Pasig River bridge, Kalayaan Avenue area, and would backflow to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx)!
Thank you for mentioning InfraWatch. We monitor the public infrastructure projects of the DPWH—whether they are really needed, the quality of construction and the price of the projects and not just the “spending.”
Most of the time (90 percent), the DPWH projects such as reblocking and/or asphalt overlay are not even needed—as can be seen in C5 and Edsa—because the pavement is still in good condition or just needs some resurfacing (asphalt overlay or slurry microsurfacing) and/or minor repairs. Then, of course, they are always overpriced.
The corruption at the DPWH continues on the fifth year of the “daan na matuwid” of the Aquino administration. A few days ago, we were at Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and we saw the DPWH doing asphalt overlay along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road although the surface of the pavement of the national highway was still good and smooth. Even worse, we could see that the quality of the existing pavement was better than the new overlay.
The question on the case filed in the Office of the Ombudsman against the district engineer of the DPWH National Capital Region office is: Why the MMDA had to do it when Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson had been informed of what was done by his district engineer? Secretary Singson just told Tolentino to “go ahead.”
Over the past four years, we have been telling Secretary Singson about the corruption committed by his people, but he has done nothing. Worse, Singson even defended them such as with the shameless destruction of Dungon Bridge in Iloilo City that the Inquirer reported in its Oct. 13, 2012 issue.
The so-called “reforms” in the Aquino administration, particularly with the DPWH, is one big, bad joke being played on the Filipino people. It is unfortunate that millions of Filipinos believe in the daan na matuwid (straight path) even if it’s patungo sa bangin (leading toward the ravine)!
—RICARDO B. RAMOS,
executive director, InfraWatch,
