CEBU, Philippines — Over P25 million worth of projects of the Cebu City government’s Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) were formally turned over recently to different recipient barangays.
The said amount is good for eight projects, which are spread out to different barangays.
Engr. Liova Gabriel, head of DEPW’s construction services division, said through the City’s Sugboanon channel that these projects are mostly road concreting under barangays Suba, Pasil, and Tisa.
DEPW bared that the newly-paved road in Pasil is worth P5 million; P14.1 million in Suba; and P3.8 million in Tisa.
Pasil barangay captain Francisco De Gracia, Jr. expressed gratitude to Rama for the concreting projects as it would benefit a lot of their residents.
“Swerte kaayo ta nga duna ta’y Mayor (Mike Rama) nga mapinanggaon natong tanan. Tanan natong mga barangay duna gyud aning mga concreting projects,” said de Gracia.
Contractors also turned over on Feb. 15 the repaired and improved Basak San Nicolas Health Center and the rehabilitation of the materials recovery facility (MRF) in Basak Pardo.
The mayor led the turnover of the health center in his ancestral barangay, Basak San Nicolas that the government renovated for P1.4 million, then the MRF in Basak Pardo, which had a funding of P1 million.
Basak Pardo’s barangay captain Dave Tumulak was also present during the turn-over and shared some light moments with Mayor Rama. Tumulak challenged Rama for the mayoralty seat in the last election.
Tumulak said the barangay will use the MRF to process reusable waste or recyclables into compost.
Rama, in his message during the turnover of the completed road projects, expressed his continued commitment to provide more road projects with drainage systems on both sides in all barangays in the city, especially in the hinterlands through his Operation Dugtong program.
Engr. Mirriam Fernandez, head of maintenance services division, said the project aims to connect the mountain barangays and pave portions of roads damaged by erosion.
Unlike the latest turned over project, DEPW rolls out Operation Dugtong worth P7 million with its own personnel and not through contractors that implement projects faster than in-house.
DEPW’s current road works are now 5 meters wide, like in sitio Tagaytay of Barangay Adlaon, disclosed Fernandez.
Rama told barangay leaders who received the projects to keep up with his mantra: “Tul-iron ang Hiwi, Nindoton ang Bati, Limpyohon ang Hugaw, Wagtangon ang Baho, ug Han-ayon ang Gubot.”
“Tan-awa ra gud ni ni-adto. Hiwi man ni’ng dapita dinhi. Karon pagkatul-ira na. Ikaduha, di man kaayo nindot dinhing dapita ba, pero karon, nindot kaayo,” Rama added.
Along with this, Rama hopes the recipient barangays in return will take good care of the newly-turned over projects.
“Kapitan ampingi ni ha? Mga konsehal ampingi gyod ninyo ni. Mga lumolupyo ampingi ninyo ni. Inyo ni’ng kwarta sa gobyerno, padung sa tawo.” — (FREEMAN)