Calling the DPWH
Now that the Sangguniang Bayan of Mexico town has called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)Regional Office 3 to shed light on the on-going or should I say long pending road project, motorists and commuters coming from different towns in the province can hope for change in the inconvenience and the danger posed by furthered dilapidated portion of the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo road (now Jose Abad Santos Avenue or JASA) in the said town.
By chance, I managed to talk to Mexico Vice-Mayor Jonathan Pangan on the road issue and he retorted that they are now digging into the matter and in fact solicited the DPWH for some explanation on the pending of the road-widening, road concreting of the said portion of JASA.
Somehow irked by the predicament of motorists and commuters they have to endure daily, Vice-Mayor Pangan said that many people put the blame to local officials of the said town despite the fact that the said road project is under the jurisdiction of the DPWH.
He said that some people would not now that the same is not a municipal project but rather a project of the national government particularly the DPWH that is contracted with private contractors.
It is quite unfair to blame municipal officials. In fact, while they politically serve the town, it is the national government indeed that is to blame for the long delay of the said road works.
In Resolution No. 065-2017 passed by the said Sangguniang Bayan, it noted that workers doing the road project continuously drill existing concrete roads without completing first the replacement road.
The Sangguniang Bayan also noted in the said resolution that the said road construction has caused quite a number of vehicular accidents that resulted into serious injuries and damage to vehicles due to the lack of proper lighting and warning signs.
The DPWH meanwhile must shed light on this. As an agency of the state, it should heed to the call for answers as to why the pendency of the road construction and why the lack of safety measures to protect motorists and commuters passing the said road portion.
Since the start of the agony of the public, the said delay in the completion of the road project has been slapped with numerous criticisms and hate statements. The motoring and commuting public who are either late for school or work caused by the sad state of the road construction are in great daily agony.
The Sangguniang Bayan meanwhile should focus its eyes on the DPWH who is the agency in charge of the said project. In aid of legislation, the august body should not stop in monitoring and pushing the DPWH to complete the said road project immediately.
The public is suffering too much from the inconvenience and the imminent danger brought about by the said road portion. As elected public officials, they should maintain their focus on any development the DPWH may somehow provide. Good luck to the Sanggunian and to the motoring public.
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