DAVAO City Second District Representative Vincent Garcia is calling on the project proponents of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP) to finish it as soon as possible after receiving complaints from second district residents experiencing poor water supply.
DCBWSP, a water project of the DCWD and the Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. (AAII), was expected to provide around 300 million liters of water to the consumers once it fully operates before the end of 2021. However, the project has yet to be completed.
"I hope unta mahuman gyud ang project kay as it is one year delay na (they would already finish the project as it is already a year delay)," Garcia told SunStar Davao on Thursday, May 19, during a road inspection along Tigatto Road in the city.
The longtime lawmaker said he had been personally receiving complaints through text message and his personal account.
"The last few days, hinay ang tubig sa Panacan, Panacan Relocation, naa mga lugar sa Sasa na hangtod karon, pila ka adlaw na walay tubig. Daghan gyud gareklamo bahin sa services, kanang walay tubig ba (there has been a low water pressure in Panacan, Panacan Relocation and some parts in Sasa wherein they experienced it until now. There have been various complaints in the water services)," he said.
While he said that he understood thatz the project had encountered some unforeseen circumstances, Garcia said that it is no longer justifiable if the implementation of the Bulk Water project would be further delayed.
"Ang tao pud, they can only... di pud pwede nga sige na sila'g antos, 'di ba? Ang ako lang is, hopefully, wala na'y further delay. Unta, if ilang time table naay delay na one year, unta mahuman siya within one year kay luoy kaayo ang tao (The people cannot keep on waiting, right? My point is that, hopefully, there would be no further delay. If they would say that based on their timeline there would be one year delay, I hope they would be able to finish it within one year because it is the people who will suffer)," the representative said.
Garcia clarified that the monitoring of the project is not under his office, but with the numerous complaints he received on the poor water service, he had to raise this concern, particularly on the excavation projects.
The lawmaker, along with some officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), conducted an inspection of the Buhanin-Mandug Road that is affected by the DCBWSP.
The road portion is among those affected by the project. He said some of the stretches had remained uncemented. A day before their inspection, the cementing had already started.
Although based on their inspection, they noticed that some of the cemented portions do not have a cutted column called the weakened plane joint -- formed, sawed, or tooled groove in a concrete structure to create a weakened plane to regulate the location of cracking resulting from the dimensional change of different parts of the structure.
In a brief interview with one of the DPWH officials who opted not to be named, the weakened plane joint must be formed within 24 hours since it was concreted.
With this, Garcia appealed to the contractors to do the road works properly as this would also affect the pipelines of the Bulk Water.
"Naa man gud sa MOA [memorandum of agreement] between [Davao City] Water District (DCWD) and the contractor na dapat ma-restore gyud ang kalsada (There is a MOA between DCWD and the contractor that they should restore the road) to its original condition," he said, adding some portions of the road had recently been cemented, but were forced to be excavated due to the Bulk Water Project.
SunStar Davao raised this concern to outgoing Davao City Mayor and presumptive Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio in a radio interview on Monday, May 23.
Duterte-Carpio, in response, said that she will sit down with the Davao City Water District, Apo Agua's partner in the project, to discuss the updates of the project.
"We will sit down with DCWD and discuss kung asa na sila sa ilahang mga timelines and kung unsa ang ilahang ma-commit sa mga Dabawenyos (where they are in their timelines and what they can commit to the Dabawenyos)," the mayor said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
Apo Agua, in a forwarded statement to SunStar Davao, said they are working closely with its engineering, procurement, and construction contractor (EPC) contractor, J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation, to expedite road restoration activities in the area.
“We are also coordinating with the relevant government agencies to resolve the community’s concerns. Apo Agua thanks the public for their patience and understanding as it works toward delivering safe and sustainable water for Davaoeños,” Apo Agua said.
DPWH-Davao Spokesperson Dean Ortiz, meanwhile, has yet to provide a statement on the matter.