THE SMUGGLED cigarettes intercepted by lawmen (this time the Philippine Navy) within the jurisdiction of Region XI is getting bigger and bigger in value.
Last Jan. 15, in the seas off Pantukan, Davao de Oro, elements of the Navy on board vessel BA 491 of the Third Boat Attack Division, flagged down a motorized vessel identified as MB Qaisar.
When the Navy men inspected the boat, they discovered some 1,118 boxes of undocumented cigarettes. The value is staggering. The smuggled cigarettes were estimated to have a value of P40 million.
Before the January 15 apprehension, local police authorities were able to intercept and confiscate the same smuggled items several times already. While the values of the earlier confiscated merchandise were smaller compared to the recent ones, this indicates that smuggling is getting more prevalent in this part of Mindanao.
From the looks of it and the frequency of the confiscations, only one conclusion can be made. That is, Davao Region is quickly becoming a smugglers’ haven.
It is apparent that the smugglers feel the seas surrounding the region are safe for their money-making ventures. The big possibility, too, is that the concerned personalities in the smuggling ring and some civil and law enforcement officials may be having their own working “arrangement,” whatever that is.
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It was unfortunate that during the lifetime of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (it was reported to be disbanded), it had not organized and deputized a group to monitor government infrastructure projects in Mindanao including, of course, Davao City.
Had there been such-deputized group, we would have been certain they would recommend a probe into the long-delayed completion of the expansion and concreting project of the Magtuod-New Carmen-New Valencia barangay road.
The project, under contract with a firm owned by a friend of many Davao businessmen because of his active membership in a major business organization, was started shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly six years passed and it is still far from completed.
In fact, the same road has already been hit by landslides on at least three stretches. The latest landslide area involved the section before reaching the bridge approach leading to the city’s dumping site in New Carmen coming from the downtown area.
Also, some sections of the road that were already concreted are now showing deterioration. And there is also one stretch leading to New Valencia proper where one of two lanes, about 150 meters or more, sustained damage most likely since over a year ago.
Yet, for the many times that we pass the road when we come down to the city proper for some important appointments, we have never seen any sign of any repair works on the dilapidated portion.
We are just wondering why the DPWH district, or perhaps regional office, has not done something about the delay.
We do not know really whether any DPWH official has conducted monitoring on the contractor’s work. And for the many times we passed by the same road, we hardly saw any equipment – or even construction workers – in the whole distance covered by the contract.
The people of Davao City should be vigilant on the progress of the work. The DPWH officials, too, should closely be looking at how the contractor is complying with its obligation.
From the billboards installed on several locations along the entire road stretch, we learned that the project costs several hundred million pesos from the people’s taxes. And many, including us, are suspecting that the contractor may have already been paid substantially – if not fully – for the total project cost.
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What are all these talks about several witnesses soon to testify against those involved in corruption emanating from the many flood control projects of the government?
No, they are not among those who were invited in the hearings of both the House and the Senate tackling the controversy. They are the souls of the dead whose bodies were entombed in a cemetery in Caramoran, Catanduanes.
They will be telling all because of their anger after their bodies were carried by floodwater that destroyed their tomb. They were so aghast at some contractors of flood control projects that were unable to serve their purpose.
The result? Their skeletons and deteriorating bodies were transferred to other locations far from their graves. So, they want to exact revenge by testifying against the flood control projects implementing contractors and others involved.
Levity aside, if flood control projects were implemented in that place in Catanduanes, and done in accordance with accepted design, then the resting place of the dead in Caramoran could not have been inundated in water.
