No graft charges vs contractor for Buendia flyover fiasco - DPWH

MANILA, Philippines - The Buendia flyover’s closure for a second round of repairs may have resulted in traffic jams along the Osmeña Highway and surrounding roads, but a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said yesterday they will not file graft charges against the contractor for bungling the rehabilitation project.

“What happened here was that there was a problem with the materials used by the contractor, so they would just repair the structure at their own cost,” DPWH-National Capital Region director Reynaldo Tagudando said.

The government spent P87 million to rehabilitate the 35-year-old overhead structure, which developed potholes inches deep a few days after it was opened to the public. DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson ordered contractor Tokwing Construction to redo the rehabilitation at its own expense. He also blacklisted two suppliers, Filipino Ready Mix Corp. and Pacific Concrete Products Inc.

Tagudando said one of the repercussions of Tokwing’s mistake is that “they would not be allowed to participate in the bidding of other DPWH projects.”

The second round of repairs may go beyond the Dec. 12 moratorium on road repair projects imposed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. The moratorium was set in order to ease traffic buildup along major roads during the holidays.