Will path of flyover hit Asilo compound?

WILL the flyover for Gorordo Avenue be diverted from the Asilo dela Milagrosa or is the design still a threat to the compound?

Conflicting statements have been a source of confusion.

Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar yesterday said she still has to meet with engineers of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways DPWH-7 to clarify  their construction plan for Gorordo.

“What they assured me before was that no part of the Asilo dela Milagrosa would be affected. Before I announced it, I made sure that I had their word,” Del Mar told Cebu Daily News. She spoke with  engineer Nicomedes Leonor of the Cebu city engineering district and regional director two weeks ago.

DPWH legal officer Agustinito Hermosa, in an Oct. 7 forum with anti-flyover critics at the Asilo conference room, likewise assured that “we wil not touch a single centimeter of Asilo property”  after the congresswoman allayed fears of Asilo nuns and insisted that last-minute changes be made in the design.

But in Oct. 27, engineer Nonato Paylado, DPWH-7 assistant chief of the planning and design division told Cebu Daily News the agency and contractor have to stick to the original design of the flyover to avoid compromising the quality of the project.

“It can’t be moved because the road is straight,” he said.

He explained that DPWH flyovers in Metro Cebu follow a set of standards for lane width, length of crub gutter and service roads.

Asilo occupants were notified that a 3.5-meter setback from their fence would be made for the flyover as marked with red paint on the perimeter wall.

This would push back the wall to the front of the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, and destroy part of the garden grotto, parking lot, guard house and part of the crisis center run by nuns.

Del Mar, in an interview yesterday, said that before she met with the Asilo nuns last Oct. 6, she confirmed with  DPWH-7 officials that they would make the “necessary changes” to avoid damaging any part ot the Asilo property.

In the wake of the latest statement from DPWH engineers about sticking to the original flyover design, Del Mar said she’ll check with the agency again.

“I have to clear it with them,” Del Mar added.