Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has taken to social media to deny corruption allegations over a road project on Dahlia Avenue in West Fairview.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Belmonte said she was criticized by a concerned citizen for “destroying an unbroken road so as to build it again.”
She clarified, however, that the video posted by her accuser showed only the good parts of Jaguar Street corner Dahlia Avenue. The road has been serving as an alternate route for vehicles until the Metro Rail Transit 7 project is finished.
According to her, sections of the road were undergoing “sectional patching,” to allow it to bear the weight of heavy vehicles.
This, Belmonte clarified, was being done by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The project was initiated by Rep. Alfred Vargas.
Improvement ongoing
“The current thickness of the road at nine inches is not enough to withstand the weight of trucks that use it. Hence the thickness of the road has to be adjusted to 12 inches,” she said.
At the same time, she pointed out that most of the encroachments on sidewalks that were dismantled by the city government were DPWH projects.
Through a dialogue, the city government reached an agreement with the DPWH to strengthen their coordination for ongoing and future road constructions to streamline the projects and prevent an overlap.
“This is also to ensure that national projects will also comply with local ordinances, such as securing building permits, color schemes and other mandates, including having all-gender restrooms,” Belmonte said.