DAVAO City Mayor Sebastian Duterte aired the sentiments of Dabawenyos who are inconvenienced by the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) road works.
"Wa gyud koy nadunggan nga naa'y nalipay anang sige'g pamungkag ninyo, unya inyong sementuhon og balik," Duterte said in his third State of the City Address (Soca) on Tuesday, August 6.
Duterte, who had been vocal about his disappointment with DPWH's unnecessary road destruction-construction, said the agency could have focused its resources on building bridges and repairing existing damaged roads instead of repeatedly tearing up and repaving them.
"Para mahuman lang, para dili nata sige'g lalis nganong naa'y mga dalan nga nindot pa kaayo ginabungkan, unya simentuhon og balik (So that this issue will rest, so that we will never argue anymore why there are streets that are still smooth but destroyed just to be paved again)," he said.
"Maybe the solution will come from you kung nganong mga ing-ana (why are these problems exist)... pwede ta muhimo'g tulay, pwede ta musimento'g guba nga daan nga dalan. Nagkalas mo'g kwarta sa tao (we can build a bridge, we can repair damaged road. You are just wasting the people’s money)," he added.
Duterte narrated that he observed this during his travel in Mintal while heading to the third district area.
"The city government is working hard to ensure that Dabawenyos can go to work daily comfortably despite the ongoing development we see around the city. We are putting our best effort to minimize inconvenience among our citizens," he said, adding that "DPWH seems to have a different goal in mind."
To address the concern, he said that the city government will be providing the DPWH list of infrastructure projects that the agency can prioritize.
"Unya didto ra mo mupili. Kay og dili, mubalik na pud atong lalis, magtuyok-tuyok lang ta aning problemaha na ni (Then you choose from that list. Because if not, we will be arguing again and we will just circle on this same problem over and over again)," the mayor said.
He had previously issued related statements against DPWH. The 20th Davao City Council even summoned some of their officials.
First District Councilor Edgar P. Ibuyan Jr. reiterated Duterte's directive to the agency to expedite their projects, adhere to the law, and closely monitor their contractors.
Ibuyan, chairing the Public Works and Highways committee, lamented that despite numerous opportunities and legislative efforts by the Local Government Unit (LGU) to accelerate DPWH projects, the department "continues to over-compromise but underdeliver."
Meanwhile, Duterte said during the recent Soca that the construction of the 45-kilometer Davao City Bypass Project worth P46.8 billion is nearing completion, while the remaining phases of the Davao City Coastal Road are also being expedited.
These infrastructure projects are being pegged to address the city's looming traffic situation.
SunStar Davao already reached out to DPWH-Davao spokesperson Dean Ortiz but he has yet to watch the mayor’s Soca before issuing a statement.
Ortiz, during the council, said that they were abiding by the City Transport and Traffic Management Board’s (CTTMB) resolution and that they would review the issues on the delayed projects to implement necessary sanctions for contractors who fail to follow the guidelines and corrective measures. RGL