DAVAO City Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte clearly wins in this particular issue in his family’s political battle with the tenant of Malacañang. The win, though somewhat small, appears big because his statement created a “dent” on the “callousness” of some officials in the government = from Congress to the agency tasked in implementing infrastructure projects.
When we say Mayor Baste’s “win,” we mean his harshest tirade so far on the President’s pronouncement that the Segment B of the Davao City Coastal Road starting from Tulip end at Times Beach to Roxas Avenue junction was to have been opened to vehicular traffic the other day, Monday, Dec. 15.
Calling the President’s opening schedule last Monday a “reckless pronouncement,” the mayor said Mr. Marcos Jr. and his men who were with him in his inspection of the project ignored the lack of preparation, including the absence of street lights and signage to warn motorists of any possible danger that could lead to road accidents.
The scathing denunciation somehow goaded the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) XI, to move, perhaps grudgingly, the partial opening.
So, instead of Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. DPWH Region moved the opening to Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6 in the morning, or barely a few hours later. However, the agency released a statement again saying the opening will be postponed indefinitely.
The question is, will the same stretch be opened daily? Unfortunately, it was not made clear by the DPWH whether it is subject to observation as to how the opening will impact on the city’s traffic situation.
On the other hand, what we believe was the winning stingiest verbiage of the mayor against the President and his men is his stern warning that “should anything happen to Davaoeños in the area because of inadequate street lights and safety measures, ‘that is on you and your stupidity’.”
We are certain the mayor’s harangue caused some stir at the DPWH. Hence the rescheduling of the opening of Segment B.
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We agree with the position of some congressmen that the unresolved disagreement on the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways may delay the implementation of some P400 billion worth of infrastructure projects.
But it is also our take as well that the P400 billion worth of projects can become a huge moneymaker for some people, especially those from the complaining Lower House.
Yes, the huge amount of money could be a source of corruption once the projects are implemented. But there is truth to the claims of the congressmen that failure to implement the projects could mean a serious threat to development and possibly result to economic setbacks for the country.
So, perhaps there is need for the Senate and the House to agree on some compromise especially in coming up with safety measures to minimize if not prevent corruption during the implementation of the P400 billion worth of infrastructure projects.
And to us, the first major step that the two Houses should adopt is to provide all the support needed during the court deliberation of graft and corruption cases filed against those involved including many of their own.
They should help the Ombudsman get convictions of those accused, be they senators, congressmen, government employees, or private individuals.
We believe that it is the best and surest way to deter corruption in government transactions, more specifically on the multi-billion infrastructure projects.
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