MMDA to penalize contractors of unfinished Edsa road project

Updated on April 1, 2024 at 5:20 p.m.

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday said it will penalize the contractors behind an unfinished road project on Edsa which caused heavy traffic.

MMDA Don Artes made the pronouncement after baring that sections of 24 roads along Edsa remain impassable due to an unfinished project.

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“Ipe-penalize po natin sila ng kada hukay ng P50,000 per day, may kasama pa pong ibang violations ‘yan tulad noong kawalan ng mga traffic marshalls and other violations,” said Artes in a press conference.

(We will penalize them with a fine of P50,000 for each uncovered hole per day, with additional penalties for other violations such as the absence of traffic marshals and other infractions.)

“Pero more than po itong penalties na i-impose natin sa kanila, ‘yung perwisyo po sa daan daang libong tao, at ‘yung nawala po sa ekonomiya natin na daan daang milyong dahil po sa traffic na na-create dahil lamang po sa isang makasariling interes ng isang kumpanya,” he added.

(However, more penalties will be imposed on them due to the inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of people on the roads and the economic losses amounting to hundreds of millions caused by traffic created by a company’s selfish interests.)

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Artes identified Globe Telecom’s private contractors, HGC Global Communications and RLink Corporation, as the companies working on the project to install fiber optic cable underground along the southbound portion of EDSA.

“HGC Global Communications and RLink Corporation have explained that they had a problem with logistics. The delivery of cement was delayed. However, their reason is unacceptable and unjustifiable. We will issue a notice of violation against them due to the traffic build-up earlier today brought about by their failure to finish on time,” said Artes.

Artes said the two contractors failed to comply with the agency’s condition that road works should have been finished, cleared, and passable to all motorists by 5 a.m. on April 1.

“Again ako ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa ating mga kababayan na natrapik po kaninang mumaga, hindi po namin naanticapte na meron pong isang kumpanya na hindi makakatapos ng kanilang ginagawa,” said Artes.

(Once again, I apologize to our fellow citizens stuck in traffic earlier this morning. We did not anticipate that there would be a company unable to complete their work.)

As a consequence, Artes said the MMDA is now currently studying banning these companies from applying for excavation permits.

DPWH to take over

With this, Artes said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will take over the project, prioritizing covering the potholes left in the unfinished project.

“We have to inventory siguro para malaman ‘yung extent ng gagawin at maayos at i-cha-charge na lang ng DPWH ‘yung cost sa dalawang contractors na ito,” said Artes.

(Perhaps we need to conduct an inventory to determine the extent of the work needed and then let the DPWH assess and charge the costs to these two contractors accordingly.)

Artes then warned the public to expect continued heavy traffic on Edsa and other roads due to the unfinished road work.