Over clustering of projects in DPWH Regional Office slammed

RAWIS, Legazpi City -- Sources from the Construction sector particularly in Camarines Sur province are questioning why the bulk of public works projects in Bicol are being cornered for implementation by the regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Since early this year, when the DPWH regional office announced that Bicol will benefit from a huge Php 5.265 Billion infrastructure fund allocation for 2012, public works contractors and some district engineering officials were asking DPWH regional director Danilo Dequito if it was a policy under DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson to cluster projects for implementation by the regional office even if they should have been under the territorial jurisdiction of the DPWH district offices.

Sources at the Camarines Sur DPWH 4th Engineering district office said that project engineers of the district office have been directed by the regional office to only supervise projects being implemented by the region.

A contractor said this means the regional office is over loaded with administration-implemented projects even when it lacks engineers to supervise them and the said projects are better implemented by the district offices

Sources at the DPWH C. Sur First Engineering district said that 5 sections of the Pamplona –Libmanan, Maharlika Highway “preventive maintenance projects amounting to about Php 170-Million have also been clustered for implementation by the regional office.

Reportedly, the sectionalized projects were within the Php  50-Million implementing authority of the district office, but a source said another policy of the regional office directs the clustering of projects that are located about 3-kilometers apart.

Some sectors have criticized DPWH regional director Dequito for the Clustering, whereas the previous policy was to distribute the projects to district offices all over the country.

A nation-wide performance rating have allegedly downgraded the ranks of DPWH districts in Bicol because of lack of projects to implement. (SONNY SALES)