Council to mayor: Work with ABC on asphalting

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council on Wednesday requested the Office of the Mayor to give preference to the requests for asphalting works made by the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and work closely with it to avoid politicizing the project.

It also requested the City’s Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) to revisit the budgetary appropriations for the past two years for road asphalting.

The council made the two request following a resolution by City Councilor Rey Gealon that sought the ABC's help in advising the DEPW on which barangay roads in Cebu City are in need of asphalting.

The discussion prior to the requests began with Councilor Franklyn Ong, the ABC president and council ex-officio member, admitted that it would be difficult for their part to provide the list.

He said it it is usually a year before the elections that there is an “asphalt storm”, which includes maintenance and paving of roads.

Ong said that several roads have potholes, which contribute to traffic congestion,  or that there are roads that need asphalting and repair but have not been addressed yet.

As for the barangays, Ong said it has been their long-standing request to start asphalting their identified areas, whose list has grown.

“Unya wa tay standard unsay pangayuon,” he said.

He then referred these concerns to City Councilor Jerry Guardo, chairman of the council committee on infrastructure, since most requests were being transmitted through his office. Ong said he would like to be apprised of the prioritization level of the roads needing asphalting and for his committee to start the civil works.

“Wala man tay guidelines, subject to weather na, depends on the weather, ‘weather’ I like it or not, so mas maayo ng klaruhon nato,” he said.

“Tinuod man nga mao na ang concern karon, kay hapit naman ang election, sige gyud tag aspalto, pa-pogi man na… pero usbon og aspalto bisan gwapo pa,” he Ong claimed.

He said that barangays have been repeatedly requesting for road asphalting, with a few still needing action for two years already. He sought clarification on DEPW’s and the infrastructure committee’s prioritization process.

Guardo, for his part, explained that asphalting procurement and civil works are categorized into three types: contracts, overlaying of asphalt from a supplier, and patching works.

He said that those that are contracted out are for roads that are in the worst condition.

He clarified that the decision on which roads will be prioritized is the discretion of the city mayor, not his.

City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos also said Lahug, of which she is a former barangay captain has a long-standing asphalting request.

Guardo, however, said that his role is primarily supervisory and that he follows the direction of the Office of the Mayor. He said that as for Lahug, ongoing concreting works in the area blocked vehicle passage, which is why asphalting work in response to the request was deferred.

City Councilor Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa also mentioned that he had formally requested asphalting for barangays Guadalupe and Inayawan, but got no response yet.

“Until now, wa gihapon…sama sa giingon ni member Ong…. Kaning mga repairs, muabot ra gyud ni og tingpadung na election,” he said.

He also alleged that there is “favoritism” in prioritizing asphalting requests. He suggested that the DEPW should backtrack through all the piled-up requests before accepting new ones.

Guardo, though, said that the ongoing asphalting projects began only last month.

“So, ang kaning mga requests nato, matod pa nila nga mga kauban nato, was last year pa ni. So, as Committee on Infrastructure, the last two years, naa kay asphalting, wala?” City Councilor Joel Garganera then asked Guardo.

Guardo responded that there were asphalting plans, but the “bulk” of the budget was redirected to the asphalting of the South Road Properties (SRP) grounds for Sinulog 2024.

“Mao nang wa kaayo na-feel sa barangay,” he said.

“So, in other words, katong mga requests sa barangays nga duha na ka tuig, karon pa ni nagsugod og implement?” Garganera asked, to which Guardo agreed.

Gealon, however, emphasized that the proposed resolution is meant to identify areas that need asphalting the most and to avoid favoritism.

De los Santos recommended that a barangay official should be present when asphalting works are done to ensure the process remains non-partisan and does not get politicized. — (FREEMAN)