Mandaluyong’s misery: Drainage project misses deadline anew

THE PRIVATE contractor behind the long-delayed drainage project in Mandaluyong City has again missed its deadline and asked for an extension up to early August, according to the local government.

LR Tiqui Builders Inc. was supposed to complete the three-year-old P609-million project on Maysilo Circle on May 8. When it failed, it moved the target to May 31.

But in a status report received on Monday by city engineer Crisanto Roxas, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the new completion date would be Aug. 9.

“The negative slippage of 10.83 percent is a carryover of previous delays caused by the perennial flooding at the project site due to the unfavorable weather conditions, particularly the occurrence of heavy rains at intermittent periods of time which caused the frequent stoppage of work,” DPWH Project Management Office director Patrick Gatan said in the report.

In an interview on Tuesday, Jimmy Isidro, the city’s public information chief, said LR Tiqui Builders again missed its deadline apparently because the project site continued to be “undermanned.” The DPWH status report showed that 70 workers are involved in the project, 15 of them skilled laborers.

In February, several shops on Maysilo were forced to close down as they lost customers due to the inconvenience and the stink from the stagnant floodwaters blamed on the unfinished project, which started in January 2013. Jovic Yee and Emichaella Añata