(Eagle News) — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday, Nov. 14, criticized the Department of Public Works and Highways for a road project in the Cordillera Administrative Region that he said lacked planning.
In a statement, Lacson said the DPWH did not consult the Mines and Geosciences Bureau prior to the construction of the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) Circumferential Road.
He said the MGB could have warned that parts of the roads under BLISTT are in landslide-prone areas.
For this, he noted that at least one person was killed while five others were injured after the 10-wheeler dump truck they were on along the Labey-Lacamen Provincial Road fell after a landslide occurred in the area.
According to Lacson, all in all, some P1.84 billion has been allotted for the BLISTT projects from 2017 to 2019 —P590 million for 2019 alone, P800 million for 2018 and P450 million for 2017.
“While there is no doubt road projects such as the BLISTT are important as they promise shorter travel time and stimulation of economic activity, there should have been planning to address various concerns, such as safety,” he said.
He said the case of BLISTT “could very well be a microcosm of many infrastructure projects of the national government.”
“It’s bad enough that we lose money to corruption. It’s worse if we lose more due to lack of planning and preparation – or simply put, incompetence. We should take all possible factors into consideration,” Lacson said.
