Barangay chief hits delay of building construction

VICTORIA, NORTHERN SAMAR, Philippines — Barangay Chairman Gerry Puason of Pasabuena in Victoria town of Northern Samar, complained over the much-delayed construction of an elementary school building in his village, 10 kilometers away from the town proper.

According to the records of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the province's first district, the building construction project–costing P6,087,941.79–started in March 10 last year and was contracted to be finished within 120 calendar days.

To date, the school building is still about 70 percent completed, Puason said. He also lamented that the project engineer "seldom visits to supervise the construction," and this deprived the pupils of having classrooms for their use.

Puason further assailed the project of using allegedly sub-standard materials, saying that the lumber pieces used in the roofing "are undersized, and salvaged from the scaffoldings." He added that the steel bars "are small and are spaced far from each other."

In an interview with Engineer Mario Soriano, of the DPWH-Northern Samar 1st Engineering District, said the project was delayed "due to the prevailing weather condition … and the bad road condition for hauling of construction materials." (FREEMAN)