BAGUIO CITY – The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) recommended that there must be a coordinative system between the city government and the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office (DPWH-BCDEO) in relation to project implementation to avoid duplication and overlapping of works.
In her letter to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, City Building Official Engr. Nazita F. Bañez reported that the city government had a 2012 local development fund (LDF) project for the initial stage of the construction of a basketball court phase I with an appropriation of P250,000 and the footings, columns and beams were completed sometime in July 2013.
The city official revealed that on May 19, 2016, the DPWH-BCDEO reportedly commenced with the project, ‘completion of the multipurpose building (basketball playground and covered court)’ with a contract amounting to P2,890,191.79 on the same location despite the presence of the city-funded and completed structures within the same project site.
“The project of BDPWH-BCDEO rendered the structures of the city non-usable and such city-funded project was already out of place,” Bañez stressed.
She added that what happened in the city-funded project that was subsequently overlapped by a DPWH-BCDEO projects will complement the previous appeal of city officials for a closer coordination between the city and the DPWH-BCDEO in the planning, programming, implementation and monitoring of projects being implemented in the different parts of the city to avoid overlapping and duplication of works that would result to waste of public funds or even create eye sores.
Mayor Domogan was saddened by the CBAO report on what happened to the city-funded project, saying that it is high time that there should be a much closer coordination between the city and the regional and district offices of the DPWH to avoid a repeat of the problem which the city had been encountering over the past several years.
He said the city government will try to initiate meetings with concerned regional and district officials of the agency in order to iron out closer coordination in relation to project implementation in order to guarantee better planning, programming, implementation and monitoring of projects citywide.
The local chief executive believes that there are other similarly situated projects in the city but he expressed optimism that overlapping and duplication of works could be prevented with closer coordination between the local government and concerned government agencies handling projects.
Further, the city mayor stated there must be continuous exchange of ideas, opinions, technical data, among others, between the concerned offices of the city government and other regional line agencies to facilitate better planning, programming, implementation and monitoring of the projects that will be worked out in the different parts of the city./ Dexter A. See
