The city government of Cebu and the Department of Public Works and Highways – 7 agreed on more coordination in the implementation of public infrastructure projects.
Monthly coordination meetings will be conducted by both agencies to monitor progress of different projects in the city.
City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said this is a long overdue agreement.
“DPWH-7 and Cebu City projects have to be reconciled. And we will closely monitor the progress of different projects in the city,” Castillo told reporters.
Castillo was earlier tasked by Mayor Michael Rama with the rehabilitation and beautification of Colon Street, the oldest street in the country.
Castillo said he was given a presentation by DPWH Cebu City District Engineer Nicomedes Leonor on how to solve the drainage problem in Colon.
“In his presentation, we found out certain portions that need traffic diversion; specific areas that need to be dredged; and also portions that are covered by settlers. If we can remove these chokepoints, we can substantially if not completely eliminate the problem of flooding,” Castillo said
For other bigger projects, Castillo said it will be handled by city administrator Lucelle Mercado as the city government’s representative.
Mayor Rama was very vocal about different DPWH-7 projects within the city that were not coordinated and consulted with the city and resulted in traffic problems, among others.
Last year, the mayor called the attention of DPWH-7 for using one lane of the road near JY Square in barangay Lahug and near the building of the City Health Department for their pre-fabricated concrete box culverts which resulted in traffic congestion.
With proper coordination, Castillo said problems like these can be avoided and the city government can assist DPWH hasten the completion of the projects.
Resource sharing
Both agencies will also be comparing their approved budgets for different projects this year. Castillo said if there are projects of the city that are already covered by the General Appropriations Act of DPWH, then they can just take it out and re-align the money for a different use.
In the future, he said both the city and DPWH will meet to discuss their project proposals for the next fiscal year.