Citizen Watchdog Report: Why damage a good road only to repair it?

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THIS WAS THE QUESTION of Allan Amistoso, reporter of humanitarian radio station Radyo Abante in Tacloban City and member of the CANA-supported citizen action group Buliganay Leyte when he sent us these photos.

They were taken in two different portions of Maharlika Highway, the city’s main road to Manila: One was in Barangay 79 (Marasbaras), still in good condition when local government decided to repair it. The other, in Barangay 74 (Lower Nula Tula), has been damaged and neglected for a long time already.

Both areas are busy thoroughfares of motorists from Luzon and Mindanao, but the heavy traffic caused by allegedly unnecessary repairs (and non-repair) has forced them to take other routes.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Sub-Engineering District of Tacloban City is in charge of the project worth PhP 13.06 million.

More questions from the public: Why not repair the road which needs to be? Why waste people’s money on unnecessary projects like the one in Marasbaras?

More thought on public projects is needed in areas like Tacloban and nearby towns still reeling from the damage of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Tell us what you think. If you have similar stories of public works that don’t make sense, share them with us.