Senate asked to probe infra works in Zambo
PAGADIAN CITY—The mayor of Kumalarang town in Zamboanga del Sur has asked the Senate blue ribbon committee to also investigate the flood control project in his town in its ongoing probe.
Mayor Ruel Molina, in a letter to committee chair Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, said the investigation should include the P19.58-million flood control project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in his town, which collapsed at the height of flooding on May 17, affecting 1,300 families.
The mayor was the latest among officials across the country who came out to report defective, or even ghost projects, flood control projects in their localities, including those from the provinces of Bulacan, Oriental Mindoro, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
Molina said the project, which was finished only in April this year, was scheduled for turnover to the local government, but the turnover did not push through as the municipal engineer and other town officials spotted some substandard aspects of the project during an inspection.
At the height of flooding in May, Molina said he was dismayed when the flood control structure collapsed.
It’s about good governance
Molina, in his Aug. 19 letter, asked Marcoleta to investigate the DPWH 2nd District Engineering Office and contractor JZL Builders and Enterprises for their role in the structural failure and collapse of the flood control project.
He also asked for a Senate inquiry into the misuse of public funds for a number of defective infrastructure projects in Zamboanga del Sur, even as he asked for the immediate rehabilitation, redesign and reconstruction of the Kumalarang River flood control project.
Molina stressed his move was “not about politics but about good governance” and the need to ensure accountability of responsible officials and contractors.
He lamented that the poor construction not only wasted public money but also endangered the lives of the people.
The strong river currents left cracks, scouring and partial collapse of the project’s dike structure in the aftermath of the May 17 floods. The flood also destroyed 25 meters of concrete slope protection wall, coping beams, grouted riprap, embankment and sheet piles.
Emergency repair
But in a statement issued on Aug. 28, the DPWH 2nd District Engineering Office said it already ordered the contractor to carry out emergency repairs of the project at no cost to the government.
“The river control structure was still under the construction warranty period when it was damaged; hence, it will be repaired at no cost to the government,” said the district engineer.
“As of today, repair works are substantially completed, ensuring that the rehabilitated structure will once again serve as a vital line of defense against future flooding events,” the DPWH said.
But Molina claimed that even before the May 17 floods or before the anomalous flood control projects in different parts of the country caught national attention, he already complained to district engineer Annabelle Upao about some irregularities in flood control works in his town.
No action
“There was no action [to our complaint]; that’s why when it flooded, the flood control (project) was washed out,” the mayor said.
Molina said he also wrote to the now resigned Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, but no action was taken, so far.
Molina also complained about a substandard bridge-widening project in Sitio Sayao, Barangay Poblacion, which was declared completed in 2023 but showed cracks even before it was turned over to the local government.
Molina called the attention of the DPWH regional director and the district engineer, who both assured him the cracks would be repaired by the contractor. But he said he later discovered there was a new budget allocated for the bridge’s repair even before it was used.
The mayor said he had been asking the DPWH since 2023 for the list and program of works of projects implemented in Kumalarang, but no such list had been provided.
