BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – After six demands, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Iloilo City District Engineering Office finally vacated its old Fort San Pedro office.
It packed up a day after Mayor Jerry Treñas sent another letter ordering Engr. De Roy Pacanan, district engineer, that they remove all their equipment, vehicles, and other instruments on the city government-owned property.
The vacated area will now house the city government’s Traffic Management Unit (TMU) which has been holding office at the ICARE building near a mall in La Paz district.
“They (TMU) will hold office at the building vacated by the DPWH city district office. I hope they (DPWH) do not vandalize it so that it will be immediately usable,” said Treñas.
Three years ago, the city government donated a lot to the DPWH city engineering district in Barangay Sooc in the Arevalo district where it should have erected its office there.
Engr. Sanny Boy Oropel, DPWH regional director, told the mayor on Tuesday night the city district office and all their equipment would vacate by the end of this week, including all their heavy equipment.
In the letter, Treñas said the city government already provided the engineering district with a relocation lot in Barangay Sooc, Arevalo which is “more than enough to accommodate your request.”
The DPWH City Engineering District reasoned the delay in the transfer was due to a lack of water and electrical application.
“However, upon verification, we have discovered that no application for electrical connection has been submitted with the city’s power distributor. The City of Iloilo cannot be put at the mercy of this factor,” the letter added.
The mayor and the DPWH are at loggerheads over several issues, including the recent displeasure of the mayor over the agency’s various projects in the city without necessary permits from city hall and other concerned agencies.
He vowed to stop other projects being implemented by the DPWH-6 in the city without permits. The mayor also said he would not hesitate to lodge charges against them if they continue constructing these projects without securing permits.
He specifically cited the cease and desist order issued against the ongoing construction of the P400-million seawall project spanning the shorelines of Barangays Rizal Pala-Pala and Tanza.
City Legal Office chief Edgardo Gil issued the cease and desist order against the seawall project for lack of permits from the Philippine Reclamation Authority, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and for disregarding the provisions of the Local Government Code.
In the order, Gil said the DPWH-6 did not conduct a public consultation with any of the concerned barangays before the project construction./PN
