Dirty ditches won’t get Capitol aid
By Doris C. Bongcac
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 11:51:00 08/29/2008
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday reminded barangay leaders to properly maintain the side ditches of provincial roads located within their jurisdictions, since this would be made the basis of financial assistance that the Capitol will give to barangays.
Garcia said she was disappointed with how barangay officials failed to keep the ditches clean.
“Your failure to answer to this responsibility will be an expensive omission,” Garcia told hundreds of barangay captains who gathered at the Cebu International Convention Center yesterday.
Garcia instructed Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre to secure a clearance from the Provincial Engineering Office before checks would be released to barangays.
The provincial engineers would determine whether barangays had been taking care of the side ditches of provincial roads before a clearance is issued.
Requests for financial assistance from the Capitol are limited to three per year and financial assistance should be spent on projects like water distribution, electrification, and construction of roads and bridges, Garcia said.
She advised barangay captains to avoid spending on things like covered courts.
As of 2007, the Garcia administration has asphalted 447.032 kilometers (km) of road, costing P1.346 billion.
Most of these roads have side ditches, built to drain floodwater from the road, said Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre.
After road construction, barangays were tasked to maintain the side ditches, keeping them clean and free of obstructions.
However, only 20 percent of side ditches have been maintained properly, Pelayre said.
These poorly maintained ditches are mostly found in a 9.5-km stretch of road in barangays Poblacion, Gunting, Budbud and Bulao in Barili town, and barangay Doldol in Dumanjug town, southern Cebu.
“The side ditches are full of trash. The canal can’t be seen. We noticed that road failures have occurred on the sides because the side ditches have not been maintained, causing water to pass on the road surface,” Pelayre said.
“Please have mercy because a lot was spent on those roads,” Garcia said. “The Capitol has answered to its responsibilities, now it’s your turn.”
Garcia also reminded barangay captains to enroll tanods, health workers and other barangay workers in the GSIS group insurance.
“You don’t pay anything for that because the province pays for the premiums,” she said.
The insurance program gives benefits to the beneficiary or their families in case of accidents or death.
Provincial Planning and Development Officer Adolfo Quiroga said that 68 of the province’s 1,093 barangays have not yet enrolled in the GSIS insurance policy.
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