INABANGA, Bohol, June 19 (PNA) — Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto on Friday called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) here to expedite works on the unfinished Sagbayan-Danao national highway as public safety so requires.
The governor’s statement came up during the meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) he presided over on the occasion of the HEAT-IT caravan held in this town.
It has been years since the road was abandoned and become dilapidated due to the legal tussle between the contractor and the DPWH.
During the meeting, the governor disclosed that an engineer of the DPWH 2nd engineering district has told him that “nobody can touch” on the portion of the unfinished Sagbayan-Danao national highway.
The DPWH revealed that based on a court order, nobody could initiate repair road works until the case is over or settled by the court.
The governor told PPOC that the situation occurred “at the expense of the public safety.”
Earlier, Mayor Natividad R. Gonzaga of Danao town and officials expressed grave concern over the unfinished highway which is now the subject of the riding public’s condemnation.
She said that the highway has become a killer highway, that caused the death of a motorist whom she did not name and other related accidents. The said highway where the portion is not yet concreted is also a security concern, citing it as “ambush area” perpetrated by robbers who divested commuters of their belongings and money.
The mayor appealed to the contractor and the agency concerned to complete the road project, which has been contracted by a Manila-based construction company and sub-contracted it with others during the time of the late Congressman Erico Aumentado.
She said that the Php200-million road project undertaken by the said Manila-based contractor has been halted by the DPWH because of alleged lapses on the part of the contractor. The contractor won the award to undertake the project since it allegedly offered some Php140 million, way below the proposed project cost, the mayor said.
But while the legal battle is on, the mayor was wondering why a Makati court issued an injunction since under the law no court action or injunction shall be issued to stop a government project.
She bared that representative of the contractor, DPWH and the Commission on Audit (COA) recently conducted an ocular inspection of the unfinished road portion.
The mayor said the extreme eco-tourism tour at Danao Adventure Park (DAP) located at Barangay Magtangtang here has been severely affected in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Plans are afoot to revive and reconstruct some of its facilities but tour operators shunned away from bringing in guests due to the bad shape of the unfinished road leading to the area. (PNA)