Disaster resilience

One department that must be heaving a sigh of relief with the scrapping of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is the Department of Public Works and Highways.

DPWH officials used to lament that the pork barrel system wreaked havoc on many public works projects and made long-term, coordinated infrastructure development impossible.

Lawmakers used their earmarking privilege under the pork barrel system to impose contractors on the DPWH that did not meet the department’s criteria, and allotted their PDAF for piecemeal road repairs.

The result has been a national road network characterized by a patchwork quilt of substandard pavement that disintegrates in the first downpour. Many of these projects are marked by billboards featuring the names and faces of epal politicians who think taxpayers must thank them for pocketing fat commissions and stealing people’s money.

Even with the abolition of the PDAF, Congress retains the power of the purse, as provided under the Constitution. But with the Supreme Court ruling on the PDAF, lawmakers are now limited to identifying projects for funding before the annual national budget is passed, with their choices limited to certain projects and priority sectors set by the executive.

It’s still a pork barrel, but more sweeping reforms may require Charter change or a strong shame campaign.

Even under the daang matuwid administration, the DPWH has not shed its image of being one of the most corrupt government agencies. Those years of pressure from crooked politicians surely inspired more corruption in the DPWH.

Still, recent reforms are becoming noticeable. Today we see more billboards featuring the specs of a DPWH project rather than the faces of epal politicians grinning like a cat that has just swallowed a mouse. You’d grin, too, if fat commissions from your PDAF have allowed you to build a house in Dasmariñas Village or Forbes Park and send your kids to schools in London.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson won’t comment on the impact of the pork barrel scandal on his department. Dropping by The STAR the other night for a chat on preparations for the World Economic Forum, Singson instead discussed what his department is doing to build better roads, minimize flooding and make structures more disaster-resilient.

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Unlike officials bickering over the rehabilitation of areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda, Singson is doing his job without contrived photo ops and ceremonies in aid of the 2016 elections.

He’s also not sitting around twiddling his thumbs while waiting for the results of endless reviews and studies of proposed projects.

Those who use EDSA and several other thoroughfares regularly can blame their worsened traffic woes on the DPWH, which is undertaking several projects simultaneously all over Metro Manila mostly in preparation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Metro Manila next year.

Looking on the bright side, we can expect better roads and flood control in a few months. At least that’s the impression we get from Singson, who is reputed to be one of President Aquino’s favorite Cabinet members.

The DPWH, Singson told us, is aiming to reduce the “roughness index” of EDSA from the current 6 to just 2.5 – or the same surface smoothness of the North Luzon Expressway.

Singson also wants to put an end to pavements that melt in the rain. Considering the needed pavement strength, the DPWH is now replacing old roads with a thick layer of concrete covered with high-grade asphalt as the “wearing course” – meaning if the pavement is worn down from normal use, only this asphalt overlay will need repair.

This special asphalt has bigger aggregates, which provides better traction and no glare, Singson explains. It also does not require drying in bright sun so paving can be done at night.

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For flood control, Singson refuses to be overwhelmed by climate change or unplanned development that covered natural water catchments and waterways in the past decades.

Inspired by countries such as the Netherlands and Japan, Singson says the DPWH is installing underground “regulating ponds” and “retarding basins” with regulator pipes around Metro Manila.

There’s one such regulating pond underneath Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City. Singson says the vertical pond, with solid adobe walls, is four stories deep and 72 meters in diameter. It was built at a cost of P60 million. That’s less than a third of the P200 million annual pork barrel allocation of each senator.

Along flood-prone Blumentritt in Sta. Cruz, Manila, a horizontal retarding basin is also being installed, with completion targeted by yearend.

Singson aims to install a similar structure in Cavite, where subdivisions have blocked natural water catchments and all drains in the northern portion open out into a single river. The result is the torrential flooding that cripples the Bacoor-Imus area during the rainy season.

The guiding principle, Singson told us, is to “make room for the river.”

In natural floodplains such as the Candaba swamp in Pampanga, the DPWH plans to install a system of levees or dikes to impound water during the rainy season, not only to minimize flooding but also to use the stored water for irrigation and other purposes during the dry season.

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The DPWH has also launched a “resiliency program” particularly in the disaster-hit areas.

Among other things, this involves “engineering interventions” such as construction designs and materials that will allow houses and other structures to withstand winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour and earthquakes of up to magnitude 8.

Substandard galvanized iron sheets, for example, will be replaced by thicker-gauge roofing held down by “J-nails” fastened with screws. Substandard hollow blocks are also out.

This is assuming that no crook, whether in politics or the DPWH, will tamper with the “engineering interventions” to replace disaster-resilient materials with the usual substandard fare so they can skim the price difference as their commission.

The PDAF scandal should put an end to such thievery. We hope.