Senate approves creation, transfer of district engineering offices, conversion of provincial roads

The Senate on Monday, June 1, 2020, approved on third and final reading several measures coming from the House of Representatives creating and transferring district engineering offices and converting provincial roads to national roads.

Approved were House Bill Numbers 5888, 5853, 5811, 5852, 5850, 5851, 1061 and 1778.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao, chairman of the Committee on Public Works, said the said measures are aimed at "improving the services we offer to the public."

"All these committee reports solidify our valued contributions towards the realization of our nation's collective aspirations. For our scrutiny, we are provided with a written recommendation of the Department of Public Works in favor of the passage of these measures," Pacquiao said in his sponsorship speech of the measures.

"The aim of the Committee on Public Works is to meet the growing needs of the people by improving public infrastructure in mitigating or fixing damages especially brought by natural calamities. Our goal is to expand the capacity of the engineering districts to carry out their mandate thereby creating and concluding more projects and benefitting more people," he said.

He said this is a reaffirmation of "our commitment to work in the pursuit of national transformation as we become responsive and relevant to the changing landscape of our global and local affairs."

"In the midst of this pandemic, we will rise to new levels of commitment in public service. By God's wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, we will never be tired of steering our nation towards the path of inclusive growth by stirring up national development," he stressed.

Passed were the establishment of district engineering offices in the municipality of M'lang, Cotabato and the Seventh Legislative District of Cebu and the transfer of the Sorsogon Second District Engineering Office from Bulan, Sorsogon to Gubat, Sorsogon.

The Senate also approved the conversion of municipal, diversion and provincial roads to national roads. These are the Albay diversion road in the municipalities of Minalabac, Bula, and Nabua, Camarines Sur; the Guimba-Talugtug-Umingan provincial road in the municipalities of Guimba and Talugtug, Nueva Ecija and the municipality of Umingan, Pangasinan; the Sta. Ignacia-Guimba provincial road, in the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija via Gerona-Pura road stretching from Barangay Nambalan, Sta. Ignacia to Barangay Buenavista, Pura, Tarlac; and the road network connecting Barangay Grijalvo, in the municipality of San Fernando and the municipality of Bula, Camarines Sur; road stretching from Barangay Anduyan, municipality of Tubao, La Union to Barangay San Pascual, municipality of Tuba, Benguet.