REVILLA SLAMS LATEST DPWH BLOOPER ON TULLAHAN

Senator Bong Revilla vowed to conduct a Senate hearing to summon high officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in connection with the overdue completion of repairs in the controversial Tullahan Bridge in Valenzuela City .

According to the lawmaker, there is a clear negligence on the part of the DPWH when it comes to monitoring the repairs being done by the contractor, identified as Ferdstar Builders, in the remaining two center lanes of the McArthur Highway Approach of the Tullahan Bridge .

"The DPWH and the contractor should have considered the weather factor in their timetable. They should have anticipated the rainy season. They kept on blaming the delays on the rain, they might be hit by lightning for that," said Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works.

Revilla said he will particularly invite DPWH-National Capital Region (NCR) project engineer Eduardo Santos. The DPWH official earlier said they were supposed to complete the rehabilitation of the bridge last month, but their work was hampered by the bad weather and when the contractor's equipment broke down.

"What we need are clear explanations, not mere alibis," Revilla said in disgust.

He also warned that the DPWH will not escape from being reputed as among the most corrupt government agencies in the Philippines if it keeps on committing blunders at the expense of the public.

The senator called on the DPWH leadership to blacklist Ferdstar Builders once and for all. He explained that the contractor had been given an ultimatum a number of times and it is time to punish it for its inefficiency.

"The contractor has a list of broken promises. It should be blacklisted and banned from entering to any government projects. We are not fooling around here," Revilla pointed out.

The rehabilitation of the 74-year-old Tullahan Bridge was completed in October last year. Last August, Revilla inspected it anew following reports that the bridge approaches was already damaged by passing vehicles, allegedly because it is built with low quality asphalt.