Thursday, July 10, 2008 Espinoza: DPWH should speed up work on flyover By Elias L. Espinoza Free Zone
THE Plaridel award for lawyer Cheking Seares is well-deserved and is long overdue.
When I was a struggling reporter at The Freeman and was taking up law at the University of the Visayas, Cheking, as he is fondly known, never whined over my lengthy police stories that he would rewrite into only five paragraphs.
He is strict, goes by the rules but is not bookish, and firm. But he has a soft spot in his heart. If not for him, I would not have become a lawyer. Because of him, I am therefore proud to be part of this great newspaper.
Cheking is the first male recipient of the Plaridel award given by the University of the Philippines System, a testament to his dedication of setting high standards for community journalism. To you Supremo, congratulations!
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Motorists will have to endure more days, maybe months, of turtle-paced traffic in Banilad because the contractor failed to keep his promise of finishing the construction of the Banilad flyover by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) still has to start the widening of the road, a component of the flyover project. Cebu City Councilor Jack Jakosalem is not happy with DPWH’s performance. “Worse, we’re being blamed for the fiasco,” he said.
DPWH was supposed to start clearing the road-right-of-way (RROW) on June 16 but it has not acquired the lots even if its officials have announced that funds are already available to pay the lot owners.
DPWH blamed the lot owners, who allegedly refused to part with their property. But the lot owners, Jack said, complained of the lack of transparency in the negotiation process. That the lot owners do not agree with the price DPWH offered is understandable. But they should also consider that they are beneficiaries as well as road users.
Jakosalem could not stomach the lackadaisical manner DPWH officials are doing their job. “They should not have promised to start the work on June 16 if they couldn’t do it,” he said.
If DPWH already has money to pay for the RROW acquisition, then why is it delaying the payment of the lots? Is there something fishy here? We call on District Engineer Nick Leonor to give priority to this work.
DPWH legal officer Nito Hermoso knows his job well. If both sides cannot agree on the price, why won’t DPWH start expropriation proceedings now? Any further delay won’t be good for DPWH, which was identified in past surveys as one of the most corrupt government agencies.
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Mayor Tomas Osmeña may have sounded envious when he criticized the Asian Institute of Management survey that ranked Lapu-Lapu higher than the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, but he has a valid point.
The existence of the Mactan Export Processing Zone and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport should not have been credited to the Lapu-Lapu City Government. Lapu-Lapu has indeed grown. But those who conducted the survey may not have taken into account its dilapidated roads.
The result of the two latest surveys that Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Boy Radaza is waving at his detractors should put the leadership in that city on their toe. They should strive to improve the delivery of basic services, like good roads and lighted and clean streets.
With Radaza’s term ending in 2010, this is the appropriate time for him to show to his constituents that he is not the person that his detractors are painting him to be by proving that he is a true public servant.
