LAST Sunday morning (September 19, 2021), me and my friends Jimmy Santos, Martin Vitug and cameraman Sonny Canlas made a trip to San Luis to shoot a vlog at Romeo ‘Gara’ Catacutan’s farm resort. The whole day we spent at Gara’s place was well worth it. He prepared a sumptuous lunch which he cooked himself and he showed us the well-developed 16-hectare resort featuring fishponds, vegetable gardens, domesticated farm animals and many more. The only downside in our trip is the bumper-to-bumper traffic in Mexico town. There’s a bridge that is under construction and seemingly with the slow pace of the work it will take time before relief for motorists will be felt. How come the infrastructure projects, when undertaken by the government always, meet slippages.?
It is definitely different when the implementation of infrastructure projects was done in Clark Freeport. And very differently during the time when the late Levi Laus and Noel Manankil were presidents of Clark Development Corporation. No rigged bidding. No favored contractor. No corruption.
If you have been to Clark Freeport recently you'll not miss noticing the many road projects that were undertaken. The improvements were in preparation for the ASEAN minister meeting scheduled some years ago. Some roads in Angeles City were also widened to complement the construction inside Clark. For some time now, the Friendship road which, in early years, was only a two-lane road, now is a six-lane road. However, the expanded road is being used as parking areas for several establishments particularly in the Korean town section. Paging traffic czar Banong Baniola.
While the subject is about roads, haven't you asked yourself who is in charge of maintaining the roads of subdivisions? There are several gated and open subdivisions in your neighborhood and possibly you've noticed that they are now in miserable conditions. For the uninformed, subdivision roads are supposed to be donated to the local government where it is located. And there is a process in donating the roads. The donation should pass through the municipal/city council for discussions, and possibly a public hearing to deliberate upon whether to accept or not.
Legally, subdivision roads are considered open spaces and if not donated to the local government, real property taxes should be imposed. But when the subdivision owners/developers will offer the spaces for donation, the roads must be in good condition before the acceptance. Otherwise, the council will outright refuse the deed.
Another observation. The Angeles-San Fernando MacArthur Highway stretch is in miserable condition. It is for everyone to see and for motorists to experience the potholed road. Third district Congressman Aurelio Gonzales missed this one. He could have wangled a budget for the improvement of this particular section because it is part of his congressional district. During budget deliberations in the House of Representatives, all department secretaries are invited to explain their budget. It is that particular time when a congressman can exert his influence on budgetary allocation.