MANILA – Malacañang on Tuesday urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to make sure that safety measures are in place in all government projects, particularly those under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the call after all six beams of a flyover being constructed along the Aguinaldo Highway in Imus City collapsed due to human error.
“Of course, the report we found was human error. That’s not the inherent defects but, of course, we are urging our DPWH to maintain safety to avoid such cases,” Roque said in a Palace press briefing.
Based on initial findings of DPWH 4A (Calabarzon), the operator had miscalculated while placing the sixth concrete beam, triggering its collapse and those of five others beams early Sunday morning.
Nobody was hurt in the incident but it caused a monstrous traffic along Cavite’s busiest main highway almost the entire Sunday.
“Because of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ programs, we have many infrastructure projects and we will probably ask DPWH to further strengthen your steps to prevent this from happening in Bacoor,” Roque said.
The flyover is part of the 45.29-km. Cavite-Laguna-Expressway (Calaex) which, once completed, will connect the Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
Under the “Build, Build, Build” program, the government has rolled out 75 big-ticket projects worth USD35.5 billion or about PHP1.75 trillion.
The 75 flagship projects include the construction of six airports, nine railways, three bus rapid transits, 32 roads and bridges, and four seaports.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the Duterte administration intends to spend about USD158 billion or PHP7.9 trillion in the next five years on nfrastructure projects. (PNA)
