Philippine bishop questions Duterte’s infrastructure plan
The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has questioned the quality of government infrastructure projects after accusing it of building a substandard highway that was “torn apart” in a typhoon last month.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan said on Jan. 4 that he was shocked to see a photo of the damaged government-constructed highway which showed it had not been reinforced with steel.
The highway in Alegira in Cebu province was badly damaged by Super Typhoon Rai that struck the central and southern part of the country on Dec. 16, killing hundreds of people.
“A national highway? … No signs at all of any steel bars to reinforce the gravel-and-sand-and concrete mix … No wonder Typhoon Odette [international name Rai] could easily crush it and leave it looking like soda biscuits cracked into pieces,” Bishop David said on Facebook.
His comments came after a local news daily posted photos of the shattered highway that showed the asphalt road torn to pieces.
The road was reportedly undergoing construction as part of the “Build, build, build” infrastructure program of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Although Bishop David stopped short of making corruption claims surrounding the road’s construction, he said the shoddy workmanship raised serious questions about infrastructure quality.
“The photo shows a road that is only about 3 inches [about 7.5 centimeters] thick with 1 inch of asphalt applied on top of it. Who would construct a national highway this way?” he asked.
The Department of Public Works and Highways is the government body tasked with constructing public works and highways.
In January last year, 14 of its engineers were sacked for allegedly pocketing public funds reserved for the building of roads.
Several Catholics responding to the prelate’s post pointed the blame for the road and other projects at systematic corruption among officials.
“Much of the funding for government projects goes into the pockets of individuals. It’s a sad state of affairs in our country,” Lino Cayong said.
