DPWH director to sit down with Mandaue mayor after RDC spat

After Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes complained about uncoordinated projects of the national government in his city, he got a response.

Regional Director  Ador Canlas of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to meet the mayor on Monday.

The mayor will show him the city’s development plans, drainage master plan and road concreting plans.

In Cebu City, Mayor Michael Rama said the DPWH will not be allowed to start projects in the city without first  consulting city engineers.

The DPWH got  a tongue lashing from Cortes in last Wednesday’s executive meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC).

Immediately after the meeting,  Canlas went to the road  project  in M. Logarta Street in barangay Subangdaku and   directed the contractor to coordinate with the local government unit.

Cortes  complained  to the RDC executive committee about a  P30 million national highway drainage improvement project barangays Subandaku to Jagobiao  that was replacing 36-inch culverts  with another set of the same size when the barangay uses larger 40-inch culverts.

“Isn’t this a waste of money,” the mayor asked.

He also  said City Hall was caught by surprise when the  contractor in the M. Logarta road repair failed to coordinate with City Hall  when they closed one side of the road for repairs starting last Monday.

This has resulted in heavier traffic in this road which  leads to the North Bus Terminal.

Florentino Nimor Jr., architect of Mandaue City Hall said a  meeting is scheduled between Canlas and the mayor  on Monday.

Nimor said the city drainage master plan calls for replacing  culverts with bigger channels to minimize floods during the rainy season.

Yesterday morning, a representative of the M. Logarta project visited them at Mandaue City Hall and assured coordination. But the contractor has yet to share details of  the project and its  target date of  completion.

Meanwhile in Cebu City,  Rama instructed the engineering and planning offices to conduct an ocular inspection of planned DPWH projects.

He was especially interested in how public works projects affect traffic flow.

Rama said several national government funded road asphalting projects are for implementation in the city before the year ends.

Rama said he will also call for  a meeting with  families affected by the planned M.J. Cuenco Avenue road widening.

In reaction to Cortes’ complaints in the RDC, Rama was quoted as saying that the failure of the DPWH to consult local authorities  was a sign of “Manila imperialism, dominance and

insensitivity.”