Claimants’ demand delays Pangasinan flood control project

By Danny O Sagun

Dagupan City (30 July) — Flood control engineers may alter the course of the flood control diversion channel in Alcala town if land claimants continue to demand unreasonable payments for the newly planted mahogany trees in the area.

Project Director Fidel Ginez of the Agno River Flood Control Office said the claimants that include a barangay captain were asking an additional P83 million for the mahogany trees they had planted right on the path of the diversion channel. Government estimates for the improvements done in the area run only to about P22 million.

Ginez, who guested at the KBP Forum Thursday at the Philippine Information Agency office along with District Engineer Rodolfo Dion, said that a parapet wall and other protection works which cost some P3 million are being done to protect about 47 houses downstream.

“It will serve the purpose,” Ginez said when asked if the protection works being done were enough for the flood control project in the area and even without settling the claimants’ huge demands.

It will be recalled that Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. of the Presidential Management Staff who heads the project monitoring team asked the stakeholders to include town and barangay officials and the claimants during an inspection last month to sit down with public works officials and the contractor to facilitate resolution of the issue.

Ginez said the claimants wanted government to deposit P83 million in a bank pending the expropriation proceedings at the Villasis municipal trial court. He said government had no money to pay the claims.

Because of the right of way problem, the original completion date for the guide channel project which falls under Package 2 was moved to March 31 next year instead of October 30 this year. Korean firm Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. is the contractor.

Actual accomplishment was placed at 72.75 percent as of July 24 when it was supposed to be 97.96 percent, or a slippage of -25.21 percent. Projects under Packages 1, 3, and 4 are already 100 percent complete.

Overall, the actual accomplishment of projects under Phase II which have a budget of P5.9 billion was 90.88 percent instead of the targeted 99.32 percent, or a slippage of -8.44 percent.

Under Package 4 was the construction of the kilometer-long Hector Mendoza bridge which was completed on March 18, 2004.

Phase I projects worth P2 billion including construction of the Bugallon channel and bridge were completed in May 2005 with TOYO Construction as the contractor.

Phase III, which will cover the upper Agno river basin and may cost P2 billion, is yet to be included in the “short list” for loan negotiation, he said.

Meanwhile, Dion announced that the completion date for the elevation of the busy Arellano street here was moved from July 31 to August 15 because of the heavy downpour for the past days.

The Mayombo-Caranglaan roadline which is also usually flooded during heavy rains was included for priority projects to be funded next year. Some P50 million is needed to elevate the road, he said. (PIA Pangasinan)