GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 14 Aug) – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 12 has generated P33.46 million in savings in the implementation of various tourism road projects in the region since last year.
Reynaldo Tamayo, DPWH Region 12 director, said Thursday they made the savings through the transparent and competitive bidding processes for the tourism road projects that were endorsed for funding and implementation last year by its central office.
The DPWH specifically allocated some P340.89 million for the implementation of five tourism road projects in the region under its 2013 infrastructure program.
“Promoting the right project at the right cost, with the right quality and right-on-time implementation is always the policy (of DPWH-12),” he said in a statement.
Along with the adoption of such policy, he said they enforced reforms in the bidding process and implementation of the projects in line with the principle of good governance and the anti-corruption efforts of the national government.
These reforms are also in consonance with the “tuwid na daan” advocacy of President Benigno S. Aquino III, he said.
Tamayo said that with the accrued savings, DPWH-12 was able to fund the implementation of three additional priority tourism road projects in the region.
He said these comprise the upgrading of the access roads to the white sand beaches of Barangay Gumasa in Glan, Sarangani; the New Israel zip line in Barangay New Israel in Makilala, North Cotabato; and the white water tubing site in Barangay New La Union in Maitum, Sarangani.
The official said the upgrading from gravel to concrete of the 133.7-meter junction national highway of Sarangani-Davao del Sur coastal road to Gumasa white sand beach road was fully completed by its Sarangani Engineering District Office last February 18.
He said the concreting of the additional 2.6 kilometers of the junction national highway of the Cotabato-Digos road to Barangay New Israel, which was implemented by the DPWH-12 regional office, was completed last June 15.
Tamayo said the upgrading of the 5.9-kilometer junction national highway of the Sarangani-Sultan Kudarat coastal road to Pangui-Wali, New La Union road, which is being implemented by the regional office, is now halfway to completion.
He added that they are targeting to fully complete the project within the third quarter of the year.
