50% of damaged roads in Manila completed

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed the rehabilitation of over 50 percent of roads damaged during the recent floods caused by monsoon rains as part of the administration's social media campaign #Lubak2normal, a Malacanang official said Tuesday.

"As of August 30, 2012, the #Lubak2normal social media campaign of the PCDSPO (Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office) and the DPWH has received a total of 3,459 tweets," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

"Since then, there have been a total of 241 reports on specific national road locations within Metro Manila that were in need of repair," she noted.

Of these 241 national roads, Valte said 125 or 51.87 percent have already been repaired by the DPWH as of Thursday last week.

"Though the campaign covered only national roads in Metro Manila damaged as a result of the monsoon rains in early August, infrastructure under the jurisdiction of local governments within the National Capital Region were also affected," said Valte.

She likewise noted that #Lubak2normal received reports on damaged roads under the jurisdiction of provincial governments, of which 37 percent have already been addressed according to the DPWH.

"The #Lubak2normal campaign has resulted in a convergence between citizen’s engagement through reports and the assessment of road repair initiatives by government," she said.

"More than just a campaign, it has evolved into a partnership among agencies. More importantly, it has demonstrated a shared commitment between the government and the public to ensure better roads and to strengthen the mechanisms of public accountability," she said.

The #Lubak2normal social media campaign was launched last August 10, 2012 to locate damage roads after the Metro Manila and nearby provinces were hit by floods spawned by the Southwest Monsoon.

The PCDSPO has partnered with the DPWH to engage the public, via social networking sites, in a campaign to report the damage sustained by national roads. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)