DPWH to blame for bad roads in Bulacan, says gov
CITY OF MALOLOS—Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando said he and the provincial government felt vindicated after a dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official admitted in a Senate hearing that not only flood control projects, but roads and other public structures in Bulacan, had been “underdesigned” so that the funds intended for these could be pocketed by those involved in infrastructure anomalies.
Fernando and the provincial government had been blamed for the poor condition of stretches of MacArthur Highway in the province, mockingly called “Bulacan-Lubakan” (pothole-ridden).
In a phone interview on Tuesday after former DPWH Bulacan first district engineer Brice Hernandez’s testimony before the Senate blue ribbon committee, Fernando said he and the provincial government were not behind the so-called “lubakan” road—a play on the province’s name used to describe the unbearable condition of the national highway.
‘Truth out’
“People have been blaming me for the lubakan. Now I am thankful that the truth has come out—straight from the mouth of DPWH officials— that these national roads are not projects of the Bulacan government and I am not behind those crumbling highways,” Fernando said in Filipino.
Since 2019, MacArthur Highway’s rapid deterioration—where major portions were damaged within months of construction, repairs or upgrades—has fueled public outrage and has been repeatedly used as a political issue against Fernando by his rivals.
Former DPWH officials in Bulacan had blamed overloaded trucks owned by local businessmen and politicians for the road damage.
“The damage caused by poorly designed and substandard roads has been blamed on me for years. But Hernandez’s admission has finally cleared my name,” Fernando said.
In 2022 and 2023, Fernando convened trucking summits to address overloading, which he said was aggravating the lubakan issue. He also urged DPWH officials to conduct a full investigation and inventory of infrastructure projects carried out under the first district engineering office covering towns and cities in three congressional districts in the province.
Mara Bautista, former executive director of the Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has long denounced the province’s deteriorating roads, particularly the MacArthur Highway in the capital Malolos, and the heavy traffic congestion that continues to slow down business and economic growth.
