THE Davao City Council urged the Department of Public Works and Highways in Davao Region (DPWH-Davao) to properly communicate and coordinate with the local government, and implement corrective measures to address issues on project delays with emphasis on road works that contribute to the severe traffic conditions in the city.
Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr., during the city council’s 13th regular session on Tuesday, said they have already invited the DPWH-Davao for several sessions with the intent of fostering a relationship of cooperation and coordination. However, given the prevailing sentiment of the local government, there is still an existing insufficiency that needs to be addressed.
The city council invited the DPWH-Davao to several sessions following frequent complaints regarding road works spearheaded by the agency that were delayed and have caused severe traffic conditions. Mahipus said that these projects were not properly coordinated with the local government, making the LGU unable to provide answers to the public.
“Let me just put on record for the benefit of the public na itong mga nakikita nila na mga road projects na matagal matapos, naga-cause ng traffic very seldom na galing yan sa atin. These are funded by the national government or national agency is the one that is implementing it,” he said.
Mahipus also said that the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) already manifested that the local government already provided resolutions approving traffic management schemes to address existing road works. Concerns pertaining to the delay in the completion of road works, however, kept coming.
“CTTMO manifested na hindi tayo nagkulang, meron tayong CTTMB resolutions series of 2023 approving the proposed traffic management scheme for various projects in the City of Davao, but then paulit-paulit ang ating mga concerns especially na itong nasisira na mga daan na hindi tayo preparado would cause traffic and the delay in the completion of this project would be very detrimental to everything sa city, lahat nalang maapektohan tayo niyan and the convenience and safety of our people [The CTTMO manifested that we were not lacking, we have CTTMB resolutions series of 2023 approving the proposed traffic management scheme for various projects in the City of Davao, but we received recurring concerns on damaged roads that caused traffic congestion, and the delays in the completion of this project would be detrimental to every thing in the city; and everyone is affected especially the convenience and safety of our people],” he said.
Mahipus said CTTMO representative Atty. Eduardo Perez IV claimed that there was already an agreement with the DPWH-Davao which the latter allegedly failed to follow.
Meanwhile, Dean Ortiz, DPWH-Davao’s spokesperson, said that they were abiding by the City Transport and Traffic Management Board’s (CTTMB) resolution and that they will review the issues on the delayed projects to implement necessary sanctions for contractors who fail to follow the guidelines and corrective measures.
“We find this as a good opportunity for us to improve on things pertaining to coordination with the local government since there are di pa gyud nato maperpekto ang implementation. Naa gyu’y mga contractors nga usahay wala gyud nagafollow sa atoang guidelines which we need to check on [We find this (discussion) as a good opportunity for us to improve on things pertaining our coordination with the local government since our implementation is far from perfect. There are really contractors who sometimes fail to follow the guidelines, and we will check on that],” Ortiz also said.
Ortiz added that with regard to the points raised by Perez on the issues of coordination between the DPWH and the local government, it would be better to convene and revisit the options to improve the coordination between the city and the agency, and not affect the traffic in the city.
Mahipus also asked for the DPWH-Davao’s assurance that it will continue to abide by the CTTMB resolution and help enforce it, to which the agency agreed.
The DPWH-Davao is set to attend the council session on April 30 to give a report on their implementation of corrective measures for the delayed completion of road projects. CIO
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