DPWH Southern Leyte outranks 227 district offices nationwide in quality control performance

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Jan. 21 (PNA) – The Department of Public Works and Highways – Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) has jumped to the 7th rank in 2015 from 105th a year ago in the annual rating of project implementation quality control performance.

District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia thanked all employees for working hard to move 98 ranks higher from the previous year.

“This is a very significant achievement. We will work harder to sustain the ranking through effective quality control implementation, project supervision, and reliability of laboratory equipment and facilities,” Junia said.

The annual evaluation checked 19 projects in 2015 with overall rating of 90.55, or nearly seven points up than the 83.58 rating obtained in 2014.

DPWH Southern Leyte is one of the seven offices in the country with outstanding rating. There are 234 district engineering offices nationwide.

Specifically, the performance assessment looked into timeliness of testing materials relative to its actual use in the project, ability to implement quality control policies, quality of completed projects, personnel adequacy, personnel competence, star rating, and adherence to standard sampling and testing procedures.

Only two district engineering offices made it to the top 10 in quality control performance nationwide. The other one is Samar 1st district engineering office in Calbayog City. The office moved 19 ranks higher, making it the top spot nationwide.

In 2014, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson approved the conferment of star rating to the DPWH-SLDEO for having satisfactorily complied with the requirements and provisions of Department Order No. 11 series of 2013.

The central office classified the DPWH-SLDEO’s laboratory one star rating based on availability of testing equipment and apparatus, competence of laboratory personnel to conduct specific tests, observance of health and safety standards, working areas of the laboratory, calibration of status, and third-party certification.

Last year, the district office acquired new testing laboratory equipments and apparatus to raise its materials testing capability. (PNA)

FPV/SQM-PR

Gov’t pours P126.6-M for Southern Leyte’s drainage, flood control projects

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Jan. 17 (PNA) – The national government has released P126.6 million for the construction of flood control structures and drainage canals in Southern Leyte, prioritizing those areas previously hit by typhoons and vulnerable to future natural calamities.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Fund released on Dec. 28, 2015, will finance seven projects.

“It takes time to release the fund since sites have to undergo assessment by the Office of the Civil Defense to make sure that the locations are previously hit by typhoons and highly vulnerable to flooding,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia.

The fund will be used to rehabilitate seven drainage canal and flood control structure projects in Daang Maharlika (P17.94 million); Liloan-San Ricardo Road (P18.08 million); another section along Liloan-San Ricardo Road (P17.87 million); Himay-angan-Silago-Abuyog boundary road (P17.81 million); a separate portion of Himay-angan-Silago-Abuyog boundary road (P17.98 million); boundary of Southern Leyte-Maasin-Macrohon-Sogod-Daang Maharlika (P18.46 million); and another portion within the boundary of Southern Leyte-Maasin-Macrohon-Sogod-Daang Maharlika (P18.46 million).

These projects will be bid out on Jan. 19 and civil works will kick off early this year. Among the typhoons that damaged these structures were “Yolanda,” “Agaton” and “Basyang.”

Junia said that some of these road sections were not badly hit by natural calamities, but they have to implement structures that would reduce the impact of future disasters. (PNA)
SCS/SQM/PR

Southern Leyte’s 37.92 kms of roads, bridges get major upgrade in 2015

MAASIN CITY, Leyte, Jan. 14 (PNA) – About 37.92 kilometers of national highways and bridges have been constructed, upgraded and rehabilitated by the Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) last year.

In 2015, the central government has invested PHP658.44 million from its regular budget to improve the conditions of major thoroughfares in Southern Leyte, aimed at creating better economic opportunities.

Of the PHP658.44 million outlay, PHP137.61 million was used for paving, rehabilitation, preventive maintenance, and construction of 29.38 kms of road; PHP409 million for replacement, rehabilitation, and construction of 38 bridges with a combined length of 1,394 meters; and PHP11.81 million for concreting of 8.53 kms of local roads.

“For 2015, a big chunk of our budget were spent for construction, rehabilitation, and strengthening of bridges all over the province,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia.

“Latest engineering techniques were applied as most bridges were built 40 years ago and are no longer structurally able to withstand the loads of the newer and heavier vehicles.”

Among the major projects are Otikon Bridge rehabilitation, Dampoy Bridge upgrading, access road construction to Napantao Dive site, Agas-Agas Bridge rehabilitation of piers and abutment protection, Das-ay flood control, and Subangdaku flood control.

Other projects funded through regular budget are water supply systems, national buildings, hospital and health facilities, market and slaughterhouses, and other public infrastructure with a consolidated cost of PHP8.91 million.

The province has 293.34 kms of national roads with 270.31 kms are paved, 17.09 kms with asphalt overlay, and 5.93 kms gravel road.

Aside from road network, under the watch of the district engineering office are the 156 bridges with a total length of 5.59 kms. (PNA)
FFC/SQM/PR/EGR

DPWH Southern Leyte ends 2015 with 87 completed projects

MAASIN CITY, Jan. 7 (PNA) – The Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) concluded 2015 with 87 completed projects, funded through the PHP835.61 million regular budget.

For District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia, 2015 was a fruitful year as they managed to achieve 94.49 percent accomplishment in the construction of 100 regular projects.

“I would like to commend all engineers and field workers for their hard work in the past 12 months. We did everything to speed up projects in order to improve road accessibility for better mobility of people and products,” Junia said.

Of the PHP835.61 million worth of projects last year, PHP35.30 million was for preventive maintenance, PHP19.68 million for repair of damaged pavement including drainage, PHP10 million for widening of national highway, PHP50 million for construction of missing gaps connecting major roads, PHP41.4 million for off carriageway improvement, PHP17.27 million for traffic benchmark for upgrading to paved road standards.

PHP56.7 million for construction of new bridges, PHP408.64 million for major repair of bridges, PHP4 million for widening of bridges, PHP50 million for construction of roads leading to tourist destinations, PHP500,000 for building of water system, PHP52 various infrastructure including local projects, and PHP90.1 million for local infrastructure program.

Still ongoing under the 2015 regular funds are preventive maintenance, construction of missing gaps, building of new permanent bridges, fish ports, multi-purpose buildings, and water system.

“My instruction is to complete all incomplete projects within the first three months so that we can focus our efforts on the construction of 2016 projects,” Junia said.

Aside from 2015 regular projects, the SLDEO has also been implementing PHP440.52 million worth of projects from various sources.

These are the PHP334.88 million school building projects from the Department of Education, PHP44.15 million special road support fund from the Road Board, PHP38 million farm-to-market roads from the Department of Agriculture, PHP8 million repair and maintenance of flood control and drainage structures, PHP11.06 million maintenance and other operating expenses, and PHP4.42 million maintenance of Aga-Agas Bridge. (PNA)
FFC/SQM/PR

DPWH-Southern Leyte completes Agas-Agas Bridge foundation protection project

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 23 (PNA) –- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) has completed the Php67-million project designed to protect the foundation of Agas-Agas bridge, the country’s tallest.

The second and third phase of the project, which costs Php47 million and Php11 million, respectively is now complete. The bridge is located in Sogod town.

The first phase (Php9 million) was completed January this year while the second phase was finished October 16. The contractor completed the third phase (costing Php11 million) last week.

The project includes the installation of gabions and stone masonry near the bridge foundation, which will serve as scour protection during rainy days.

Gabions are cubes consisting of double twisted wire mesh container of variable sizes, uniformly partitioned into internal cells, interconnected with other similar units, and filled with stones to form flexible, permeable, monolithic structures.

“We have to define waterways to control flow of water from the mountains that caused erosions,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita Junia.

Timber poaching contributed to the abnormal flow of water under the 311 feet high bridge, according to DPWH.

“If we will not protect the foundations, the bridge will eventually collapse,” Junia said.

The field office is also pushing for additional works to further define waterways. Engineers have yet to come up with project cost estimates.

The 350-meter long bridge, inaugurated in 2009, was seen as a permanent solution to landslide and rockslides in the area, resulting in stranding of vehicles.

The Php1.024 billion bridge was funded through a loan under the Japan International Cooperation Agency – Official Development Assistance. The loan also funded more than a kilometer road concreting approaching the bridge, road slips, and drainage system.

The structure is a mix of steel and concrete materials supported by two long piers from the ground. The bridge area has a view deck, rest area, bituminous concrete surface course and bridge electrical provision.

In the past years, the bridge only got Php350,000 annual budget for maintenance, but for 2015, the DPWH-SLDEO has secured Php4-million special funds for the same purpose. (PR)
LAP/SQM/PR

DPWH-Southern Leyte to complete construction of new provincial hospital

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 18 (PNA) – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will complete the construction of Southern Leyte provincial through a PHP50-million budget from the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) of the Department of Health.

Specifically, the budget will be used to build a dialysis center, power house, morgue, and covered walk. The dialysis center will be the first of its kind in the province, operating through public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

“For next year, we will build more facilities to help maximize the operation of the new hospital. These health facilities will allow more people here with health needs being served in an appropriate and timely manner,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia during the project inspection on December 10.

The hospital can accommodate 200 patients, but its current manpower reduces its bed capacity to only 100 patients.

The provincial government through Governor Roger Mercado relocated the hospital to Barangay Dongon from its old location in Barangay Mambajao in December 2014.

The Level 4 hospital primarily funded through a PHP226-million loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines is equipped with CT-scan, a toxic waste disposal facility, and ample space for parking.

The local government decided to transfer the provincial hospital considering that the old facility was overcrowded, close to residential areas, and has very limited parking space.

The facility has been attending to the health needs of patients in the entire Southern Leyte province, and towns of Matalom, Bato, Hilongos in Leyte. (PNA)
LAP/BNB/SQM/PR/egr

DPWH rushes school building construction in Southern Leyte

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 18 (PNA) – Majority of school building projects in Southern Leyte are now ongoing as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) fast tracks classroom construction works ahead of the full implementation of K to 12 (Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education) next academic year.

As of Nov. 30, 2015, school building projects funded by the Department of Education (DepEd) in 49 out of 64 sites are now ongoing, with an accomplishment rate ranging from 5 percent to 90 percent.

At least 15 projects have not yet started due to cost adjustment, bidder filed motion for reconsideration, ongoing bidding process, and pending the result of the sub soil exploration survey.

“We are rushing these projects to make sure that all of these will be functional by June 2016,” said DPWH-Southern Leyte District Engineering Office chief Ma. Margarita Junia.

In the case of island town of Limasawa, the DPWH seeks additional funding for the PHP8.36 million project considering that the transhipment cost was not included in the approved allocation.

“The allocation for school building in the island and in the mainland is the same, that’s why no contractor is interested to join the bidding. We have requested for 15 percent additional funding for the cost of transport. This is subject to approval of the Bureau of Construction,” Junia explained.

Two sites failed the soil exploration study, prompting the DPWH to look for other options.

These campuses are the Lungso Daan National High School in Hinundayan town and Paku National High School in Bontoc town.

Officials of the DPWH and DepEd have been meeting weekly to tackle issues hounding the implementation of school building projects.

The national government has earmarked PHP213.15 million for the construction of 202 classrooms for public secondary schools in Southern Leyte province.

These projects are expected to boost the preparation of the province for next year’s full implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) under the K to 12 program of the national government.

Data from the DepEd shows that Maasin City and Southern Leyte towns need at least 242 classrooms by 2016 for new SHS enrollees.

At least 56 public schools in the province will offer the SHS program next academic year with 8,655 projected SHS enrolees. (PNA)
JMC/SQM/PR/egr

Completion of Limasawa circumferential road eyed in 2016

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 13 (PNA) - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is eyeing to complete next year the Php112-million circumferential road in the historic island town of Limasawa, Southern Leyte.

The Southern Leyte District Engineering Office has already bid out the Php44.1-million for the concreting of the remaining 1.637 kilometers of unpaved road.

The entire road stretch has been tagged by the DPWH and Department of Tourism as a priority under the tourism infrastructure project.

District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia said paving the rural road network reaffirms the government’s commitment to link all villages in the historic town to prop up the local economy.

The DPWH started the concreting project in 2013 with an outlay of Php36 million for 1.23 kilometers. For 2014, the project got a PhP32 million funding for 1.1 kilometers.

The road links the six villages of the town --San Agustin, San Bernardo, Triana, Magallanes, Cabulihan and Lugsongan.

“The completion of concreting is part of the preparation for the 500th commemoration of the First Mass on March 31, 2021,” Junia said.

Limasawa is the site of the national shrine where the First Catholic Mass in the Philippines and Asia was celebrated on March 21, 1521.

Limasawa is a sixth class town and an island of the same name in Southern Leyte, with a population of only 6,000, making it the smallest town in the province, both in population and area.

The island town holds an annual commemoration of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines through the Sinugdan Festival every March 31.

Aside from its rich history, the town is also endowed with natural wonders. The island is surrounded with clear blue water and white sand beaches. (PNA)
LDV/SQM/PR/egr

DPWH Southern Leyte gets PHP62.65-M outlay from Road Board

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 11 (PNA) -– The Road Board has allocated an additional PHP62.65 million for the maintenance and improvement of road networks in Southern Leyte province.

These projects are PHP12.65 million slope protection in Liloan town, PHP10 million off carriageway improvement in Padre Burgos, PHP10.5 million installation of guardrails from St. Bernard to Hinunangan, PHP12 million road shoulder construction with line canal in Anahawan, PHP7 million thermoplastic painting along Bato-Bontoc section, and PHP10.5 million thermoplastic paining along Liloan-San Ricardo section.

Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia said the bidding process is ongoing. All projects will be awarded to contractors before the year ends.

“We asked for funding support from the Road Board for critical sections not included in our regular funding with most of these projects are intended for the safety of motorists,” Junia said.

The DPWH-SLDEO has been submitting proposed projects to the Road Board for the eight road sections in the province.

The Road Board is the governments’ steward for the objective utilization of the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC). Since 2001, the agency is at the forefront in acting as the supplemental source of funding for road maintenance all throughout the country’s national and local roads.

The Board is consists of seven members with the DPWH Secretary as the ex-officio chairman and the secretaries Department of Finance; Department of Budget and Management; Department of Transportation and Communications as ex-officio members. The three remaining appointed members come from the motorist and transport sector.

The organization is entrusted the responsibility to ensure and oversee the optimum utilization of resources for the maintenance and improvement of a safe, efficient, and environmentally balanced road network, thereby contributing to the physical, social, and economic well-being of the country. (PNA)
FFC/SQM/PR

Special authority contributes to early bidding of 2016 projects

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Dec. 3 (PNA) – Decentralization has paved the way for faster preparation of 2016 projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) this year.

Of the 83 regular infrastructure projects listed for next year, 69 have been bid out as of end of November. The bidding process has been done ahead of 2016 General Appropriation Act approval by the Senate.

“I am so happy because as of the end of November we are about 83 percent complete of our target for bidding of 2016 infrastructure,” said District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia.

Junia attributed the expeditious preparation of projects to the special authority granted by Secretary Rogelio Singson.

SLDEO is one of the DPWH field office in the country with authority to approve plans, program of works and approved budget for the contract for locally-funded projects with allocations of PhP50 million and below.

The authority has raised the approval limit of the district from PhP20 million in the past to PhP50 million for 2016 projects and onwards.

“Last year, project implementation was delayed especially those costing more than PhP20 million because it needs approval of the regional office. Last year it took three to four months to have one program of work approved by the regional office,” Junia explained.

The conduct of early bidding activities is in support to the administration’s goal of sustaining the country’s strong economic growth through public infrastructure spending and development.

Of the P688.5 million bid out projects, PhPh475.77 million are bridges, PhP55.7 million are local infrastructure projects, PhP85 million are infrastructure projects supporting tourism development, and PhP72 million repair along national roads.

Under the proposed 2016 infrastructure projects based on National Expenditure Program, the district office is tasked to implement P1.45 billion worth of projects.

These include PhP160.6 million for rehabilitation, upgrading and construction of national highways, PhP209.21 million improvements and widening of national roads, construction of missing gaps, off-carriageway improvement, and PhP596.97 million for construction and maintenance of bridges along national highways.

Also listed are PhP27.19 million for construction and maintenance of flood mitigation structures and drainage systems, PhP320 million for improvement of access road leading to tourist destinations, and PhP90 million construction and repair of various infrastructure including local projects. (PNA)
CTB/SQM/PR