Contractor cements both sides of Makati road

MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Amapola street in Barangay Pembo, Makati City are up in arms after a contractor poured concrete on both sides of the street.

A netizen posted on Facebook a photo of the street, marred with footprints of residents who were left with no choice but to step on the wet concrete.

“How can residents of Amapola get home if you cemented the entire street? Shouldn’t you do one side first, then the other?” Jhae Francisco wrote in Filipino last Tuesday.

She also joked that she would give essential oils to help people behind the project to be smarter and more focused.

The said post has received 20,000 reactions, 200 comments – mostly sarcastic and hinting of frustration – and shared 13,000 times as of yesterday.

The concrete on Amapola street is still wet, but residents and motorcycle riders passed through it as of yesterday.

A 42-year-old housewife told The STAR her children have to pass through a narrow alley to avoid the newly cemented road.

A notice stated that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Metro Manila II District Engineering Office implemented the road project, which was a “rehabilitation/ upgrading of (the) drainage system.”

The project, which cost P7,300,459.45, covered the stretch of Amapola street from Sampaguita to Cadena de Amor streets and has Two Aces Construction and Supply as the contractor.

While the notice indicated that the project was supposed to be done from July 8 to Nov. 4, residents said concrete was poured on the road only last Tuesday.

Dennis Turingan, a barangay councilor who chairs Pembo’s infrastructure and development committee, told The STAR he asked the contractor to get clearance to pour concrete but the firm did not comply.

He said that with Amapola street leading to a dead end, the contractor should have poured concrete on one side of the road first, wait for it to dry, then done the other side.

Concrete poured on the road could be as high as 16 inches since drainage would also be installed, he added.

The Makati City government confirmed that the DPWH is in charge of the project.

Yesterday, Francisco updated her Facebook post to include an explanation from the contractor and engineer of the road project.

“They cannot pour cement on only one side because it would erode when they would discharge cement on the next side, and because the cement mixer could damage the line canal,” she said in Filipino.