DPWH chief orders review of defective, newly built projects

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson said Tuesday that he has ordered a review of some recently completed projects but which purportedly need repairs so soon after they were finished. Sngson said he tasked the DPWH Bureau of Research and Standards to undertake the review after he received funding requests for foreign-assisted projects completed only in the past two years. “Katatapos pa lang, wala pa kaming dalawang taon, nanghihingi na ng pondo pang-repair. That’s not acceptable to me," he said in a press briefing on Tuesday. Singson made the statement less than three weeks after the DPWH ordered the contractor that undertook the repair of the Osmeña flyover crossing Buendia Avenue in Makati City last May to re-do the asphalting works. The department found pavement failure days from opening the flyover to vehicular traffic. The contractor, Tokwing Construction, has already agreed to comply with the DPWH directive and work on the re-asphalting of the flyover depending on the weather conditions, according the DPWH chief. He added that the department will check who should be held liable for the projects showing early defects. “We are going to conduct tests to see kung saan depekto niya: sa materyales ba o sa construction methodology," he said. — ELR, GMA News