Water district allowed to resume pipe installation

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Eastern Visayas was allowed to continue its pipe installation for Leyte Metropolitan Water District (LMWD) in the city.

Rolando Asis, DPWH regional director, ordered the city’s sub-district engineering office to allow LMWD to proceed with the project where there are no illegal settlers, violators, encroachers of the road right-of-way as provided for in section 13 of Presidential Decree 17.

“It should be taken into consideration that pipe installations shall be maintained at 9.0 meters from the center line of the national road,” Asis said in his memorandum dated September 7, 2012.

“On the other hand, deviation on the pipe laying may be made if and when the removal of the illegal structures or deviation on the pipe laying may be made if and when the removal of the illegal structures or obstruction yet cannot be done at this point of time for justifiable reason,” Asis added in his memorandum.

Sometime in July, the city’s sub-engineering district stopped the LMWD project on the basis of violating Department Order 26, which states that any excavation is not allowed if it is not less than the nine-meter counting from the center line.

It was learned that the LMWD used the 6 to 6.5-meter distance counting from the center line in laying its transmission lines.

LMWD claimed it laid pipes nine meters from the center line in areas where it could be done from Pastrana to Palo towns.

In a statement, LMWD said the sub-engineering district “only caused the delay” in temporarily stopping the excavation in the city.

“There was actually no point of stopping the project. The first and second engineering districts did not implement Department Order No. 26 because they know it would be impossible to impose,” LMWD spokesman Mark Morallos said.

“The sub-engineering district knew in the first place that there are exemptions in the department order’s implementation,” Morallos added.
 
The excavation of the LMWD is part of its expansion program to address the inadequate water supply in the city.

The transmission lines are to cover around seven kilometers within the city streets ending at the LMWD water reservoir in Serin district.

The water utility has secured a more than P700 million loan from Land Bank of the Philippines to undertake the said project. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)