This month’s DPWH - X Regional Coordination Meeting was hosted by the Bukidnon 2nd District Engineering Office held at the Overview, Quezon Bukidnon last August 9, 2016.
Spearheaded by Regional Director Evelyn T. Barroso and Assistant Regional Director Efren A. Berba, the monthly assembly of the District Engineers aimed to maintain the top performance of the region in providing the public with quality infrastructure facilities.
RD Barroso re-echoed the issues raised during her meeting with the newly-appointed DPWH Secretary Mark Villar which concerns the strict compliance to Department Orders, implementation and maintenance of projects, achieving the set targets in terms of Physical and Financial Accomplishments, the importance of responding to complaints immediately, the deadlines to be met among others.
New policies of the Duterte Administration was highlighted. One of the initial actions undertaken in observation of the new administration is the mandatory drug testing of all employees in the department to assure that performance of government workers will not be affected due to the use of illegal drugs. In addition, the policy on break extensions, personal use of government vehicles, loitering during office hours, utilization of funds for Lakbay Aral, and other rules often neglected are further strengthened, thus restoring the public’s trust.
Increased spending on infrastructure is Duterte’s first priority. Although one of the fastest growing and one of the most developed countries, the Philippines still suffers from inadequate infrastructure, particularly frequent power outage and a poor transportation system, which caused increased business costs and destabilize economic activities. Duterte has vowed to improve public transport and his first big project is the establishment of a railway for the Philippines.
RD Barroso instructed the District Engineers to validate their proposed projects for 2017 since project proposals with Road Right Of Way (RROW) issues will not be prioritized following the instruction on “No Permit to Enter, No Bidding.” This is done to assure that projects to be implemented will not be interrupted or most likely be terminated due to unforeseen RROW concerns.
Updates on physical and financial status and other matters will be discussed during the next regional coordination meeting to be hosted by Bukidnon 3rd District Engineering Office and the date is still to be announced.