Zamboanga Peninsula

Zamboanga del Norte highway suffers from budget slash

Gualberto Laput

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Zamboanga del Norte highway suffers from budget slash

HIGHWAY REPAIR. Motorists drive past an ongoing repair of a section of a highway under the 2nd Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Zamboanga del Norte. An official says the budget is not enough to maintain the 173-kilometer stretch.

Gualberto Laput / Rappler

Critics describe the state of the 173-kilometer highway as dire, and the worst in the Zamboanga Peninsula region, if not in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines – The head of the 2nd Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Zamboanga del Norte called for additional funds to maintain a more than 170-kilometer highway in the province. 

Aminodin Maniri, the district engineer, appealed to Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan for more funds due to criticism about the poorly maintained highway, which has been described by some as the worst in the Zamboanga Peninsula region, if not in Mindanao.

“We hope the Secretary will understand our situation. People are already complaining about us,” Maniri told Rappler on Tuesday, February 7.

For two years, the 173.78-kilometer highway from Dipolog City to the village of Talinga in Sindangan town, Zamboanga del Norte, has been the subject of complaints from motorists due to its numerous potholes. 

Maniri blamed the inability to address the problem on substantial reductions to the highway’s maintenance funds.

Critics have described the state of the highway as dire, with some saying that “the road to success is difficult, but the road to Sindangan is much worse.”

Maniri said the maintenance funds for the highway have been gradually reduced since he assumed his post in January 2021, with a reduction of 74% so far. The district office had P35 million for maintenance in 2021, which was reduced to P27 million in 2022, and further lowered to P18 million in 2023.

The reduced budget means there are limited funds available for fixing damaged parts of the highways, with much of the budget going to labor costs. 

He said the problem was exacerbated by the Zamboanga del Norte provincial government’s ban on sand and gravel extraction, which was lifted in November 2022, and increased flooding, making it more difficult to maintain the road.

Zamboanga del Norte provincial board member Michael Documento noted that efforts to rehabilitate the highway dragged on because of frequent rain and flooding in the province.

With its tight budget, Maniri said, the district engineering office has become so desperate that it has resorted to taking out loans for cold-mix asphalt to undertake some repairs.

Despite cuts to engineering maintenance funds in Zamboanga del Norte and other provinces, the DPWH’s national budget has increased, with a third of the department’s budget going towards maintaining existing infrastructure. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has questioned this allocation, calling for the DPWH’s spending priorities to align with the “Build, Build, Build” program.

Of the P5.268 trillion General Appropriations Act signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on December 16, 2022, the DPWH received P893 billion.

“I really don’t know why local budgets have been cut when the department’s [entire] budget has been increased,” Maniri said. He emphasized that restoring the maintenance funds of engineering district offices in the provinces is essential for the rehabilitation of highways.

Over the past three decades, the engineering district’s focus has been on widening the highway, but the asphalted parts were neglected, leading to increased flooding and road damage.

“Water is the worst enemy of asphalt, so last year we switched to paving the entire highway with concrete. We’ve successfully concreted 62.5 kilometers so far and aim to complete work on the remaining 111.19 kilometers by 2024,” Maniri said. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!