Failed Surigao road project nearly pushed gov to become rebel

BUTUAN CITY — Had it not been to cooler heads that appeased Surigao del Sur Gov. Vicente Pimentel Jr., he may have been included now in the list of the new commander of the New People’s Army in Caraga Region over disappointment for the World Bank’s P1.17-B road project bidding that failed thrice in a row.

In a press statement right after the announcement that the public bidding was declared "failure" again, the Surigao del Sur governor who is chairman for the Caraga Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) threatened to join the NPAs because of the bidding failure three times in a row.

Pimentel and almost all local officials of Surigao del Sur who have been lobbying for years for the much needed road project expressed grave dismay of the bidding failure saying "bad roads have been discouraging local and foreign investors including tourists to come to the natural resources rich and God endowed tourism sites province."

"Eventually because of bad road condition, businessmen, local and foreign tourists alike who are eager to take a glimpse of our world class tourist sites shy away in visiting our province thus construction of good road network is the answer to our decades-old problems," Pimentel in his press statement said.

But DPWH Caraga Regional Director Engr. Romeo Momo, however, told The STAR that even the World Bank soft loan road project bidding was declared a failure, "we will continue to seek other ways to fund the project which aims to spur economic development in Surigao del Sur," assured the 53-year-old regional director who is a native of Surigao del Sur.

Momo said that the DPWH central office in Manila with strict World Bank anti-graft policies are conducting the public bidding and not the regional DPWH office in Caraga Region.

Momo, nevertheless admitted that bad road conditions in Surigao del Sur have contributed further to the worsening insurgency woes in the area that extends to the nearby province of Agusan del Sur, another communist hot bed like Agusan del Norte.

Said provinces are included in the "Club 20" or the 20 poorest provinces of the country according to NEDA and NSO.

Caraga Region, of all 16 regions in the country has been tagged as the most depressed and poorest due to the widening gap between the rich and the poor which resulted to bad governance eventually causing zero investments to spur employment in the province.

The project, which costs P1.17 billion, involves the improvement of the 73-km Marihatag-Barobo and Tagbina-Hinatuan-Bislig section of the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road.

The Surigao-Davao Coastal Road Project is a World Bank-assisted project funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.