DPWH defends Tiniguiban road repairs
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently defended its ongoing repair of the portion of the national highway along Barangay Tiniguiban, amidst public criticisms that it was unnecessary and has been causing severe traffic congestion. DPWH 3rd Palawan District project engineer Darius San Diego said their recent inspection of the road showed that the area was already in a “bad condition” and required “concrete reblocking.” “Meron kaming road condition inspectors. Iniisaisa nilang lakarin ‘yong buong national highway. Sila ang nagde-determine niyan although hindi visible, base sa criteria ng aming opisina ay bad condition na siya (Tiniguiban highway). Mapapansin niyo may nakaguhit na itim, kasi na-repair na ‘yon [dati]. Basta meron nang crack, ibig sabihin sira na ‘ yong ilalim, ‘ yong underlying structure noon ay sira na,” he said. San Diego said the Tiniguiban road is on their top priority under the “concrete reblocking project of Puerto Princesa south road.” He said concrete road reblocking pertains to the shattering of the cracked or damaged blocks of the road, each block measuring 4.5 meters long and 3.35 meters wide, in order to be filled and replaced with new cement. “Ibig sabihin ng re-blocking, hindi siya ‘ yong tuluy-tuloy, may mga gap ‘yan, kung saan lang talaga merong crack,” he said. “Maingay, masakit sa tenga lalo na ‘ pag binabasag ‘yong semento, tsaka maalikabok, ‘ yon ang problema namin. Utos daw ng DPWH. Tinanong ko nga [ang mga trabahador] kung bakit ginigiba ‘yan eh maganda pa naman, ‘yon daw ang utos ng DPWH,” Jose M. Valloyas, a local resident, told Palawan News. San Diego said that they have been doing a lot of reblocking in parts of the south road without facing strong criticisms from the public. “Napansin lang nila ‘yan kasi nasa bayan. Kung ako hindi dito nagtatrabaho, magtataka rin ako. Ngayon wala po kaming magagawa na para gawin ‘yong mga hindi sakop ng jurisdiction namin. Along national highway lang lahat ‘yan,” he said.