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By Manny T. Ugalde, Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY: The controversial Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH) task force allegedly created in
favor of an Albay congressman will continue to operate even if it
has almost completed its tasks.
Bicol DPWH Assistant Regional Director Oscar
Cristobal said the task force would continue operating because
projects under the Calamity Assistance Rehabilitation Efforts (CARE)
have not been fully completed.
The task force handles projects of the Albay
Second District, which has been given the biggest allocation in the
P770-million CARE funds for Albay’s three districts. The funds are
intended for the repair of damaged roads, bridges and river control
projects.
The controversial task force was a brainchild of
DPWH Regional Director Orlando Roces who offered it to newly elected
Rep. Al Francis Bichara after the latter failed to have his proposed
separate second engineering district from the regular Albay
Engineering District due to the rationalization program.
Cristobal said Bichara had already filed a bill
in Congress to create a separate Second Engineering District, but
this might take sometime to become a law. He cited the case of the
Albay Third Engineering District that its proponent, then-Rep. Joey
Sarte Salceda, who took six years to have his bill approved into law
in 2005.
The Task Force was formed on September 26, 2007
through a memorandum. It transferred entire projects lodged with the
Albay Second District to the Task Force. The projects include
ongoing and future projects, and those related to the roads and
bridges.
Before the release of the memorandum, Roces and
Cristobal had announced the task force would only handle special
projects, such as CARE and those related to Bichara’s pork barrel.
Following the creation of the task force that
practically operates like a regular engineering district, Bicol
district engineers lashed at Director Roces for alleged
circumvention of the law.
They held that creating the task force it was
unnecessary, as congressmen usually avail of the services of the
region’s Construction Division, if they are uncomfortable having
their particular projects implemented by their regular engineering
district, or vice versa.
One of those who availed the services of the
DPWH Regional Office was then-Representative, and now Albay
Gov. Joey Salceda. During his last two years in Congress, Salceda
transferred his pork barrel funds to the DPWH Regional Office for
implementation, instead of the district engineering office.
Arnold Matamorosa, then the district engineer
in-charge, was branded by then Albay Gov. Fernando Gonzales as
extremely incompetent. Matamorosa is now the designated task force
head after he was sacked as district engineer in-charge upon
complaint of newly elected Rep. Reno Lim.
Cristobal said the existence of the task force
depends on whether Director Orlando Roces wishes to terminate it or
not. He admitted however the task force suffered some setbacks when
some project proponents pulled out their funds, instead of having
them implemented by the task force.
Cristobal said some people who secured funds
from senators or Malacañang to bring in projects for the Second
District preferred to handle their projects by the regular Albay
Engineering District under District Engr. Manuel Azurin.
He said, however, that fund proponents could
still avail of the services of the Albay Engineering District to
implement their projects, provided it is stated in their
communications to the office that their projects be handled by the
respective district engineers.
Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City said his city
have been deprived of millions worth of projects after fund
proponents decided to pull out their funds to avoid the task force.
Sources said Bichara and Roces should have
designated a head of the task force from the floating district from
engineers with expertise and good reputation who were relieved of
their posts after the election since Roces alleged failed to protect
them from their new congressman.
The task force is directly attached to Roces,
but employees and contracts are paid for by the Albay Engineering
District.
The Albay Engineering District has its office
inside the DPWH Regional Equipment Service office fronting the
Legazpi Airport. It has its name written in bold letters identifying
it as the “second Legislative TF” (task force), which had
often been interpreted by many as the legislative office of a
congressman.
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