Mondejar leads probe on ‘surprise’ P319M road rehab work
Legislative investigation on the “surprise” P319 million planned road rehabilitation project starts Monday at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol.
Proponent of the probe, Second District Board Member June Mondejar will lead the investigation as chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure.
Slated at 9:30 a.m., expected and invited as resource persons are officials and engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) here.
The committee hearing vis-a-vis legislative look is done in aid of legislation following previous week’s privilege speech of Mondejar.
“Never again,” he then said as he called anew the attention of DPWH hierarchy and raised questions on the P319 million road rehabilitation project in his district.
Mondejar as per query made with the Iloilo Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO) was apparently told that no such work or funding came into the PEO’s attention.
This, contrary to what the second district board member was told with no less than a DPWH source supposedly saying the P319 million project is a-go.
Targeted is the 8.6 kilometer road network covering Second District towns of New Lucena and Sta. Barbara. As such, colleagues of Mondejar in the 9th Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) pointed out how at least P30 million is then budgeted for every kilometer of road to be rehabilitated.
“Never again,” Mondejar asserted saying if indeed multi-million road rehabilitation is going to happen, an assurance is needed that the work will not be defective.
“We do not know whether this improvement means concreting or asphalting and up to what extent. If asphalthing, how sure is the DPWH that this will not be the same with the asphalting of Cabugao Norte – Pagsangaan provincial road that allegedly lasted only for approximately six months? And how sure is the DPWH that this will not be the same asphalting work in San Miguel national road that allegedly lasted only for one year?,” Mondejar in his “Never Again” speech then said.
Mondejar’s move generated similar concerns from the SP body with a proposal to include other road projects ongoing and planned for Iloilo province.