DPWH reopens district engineering office in Marawi
January 4, 2018 | 10:59am
Construction of the Tagoloan-Talakag Highway in Lanao del Sur in August 2017. John Unson, file
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Lanao del Sur First District Engineering Office in Marawi City has returned to regular operations after a five-month shutdown.
Officials of the regional peace and order council in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said Thursday the Lanao del Sur 1st DEO reopened after New Year’s Day.
The DEO covers the more than 90 barangays and towns in the first district of Lanao del Sur, which has two congressional districts.
Some P400 million in infrastructure projects under the Lanao del Sur 1st DEO were suspended during the five-month siege of Marawi City by combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf gunmen.
Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares of the Police Regional Office-ARMM said Thursday he has directed the Lanao del Sur provincial police to help secure the reopened DEO.
The conflict-affected district engineering office operates under the joint ministerial control of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and his Public Works secretary, engineer Don Loong.
“The Lanao del Sur provincial police office and the Marawi City police shall cooperate in securing the facility,” Mijares said.
Loong said personnel of the Lanao del Sur 1st DEO, most of them evacuees too, have reported for duty and will work overtime if necessary to cope with work backlogs.
Hataman said employees need to beat the deadlines for ARMM’s big-ticket infrastructure projects in Marawi City and nearby towns.
He said the regional government will focus on the completion of more projects in 2018 in preparation for a possible transition to an envisioned Bangsamoro political entity.
The creation of the Bangsamoro region is in a peace agreement between Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which parties reached after 17 years of talks.
Hataman said he is optimistic Congress will pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which is to become the charter of a Bangsamoro government that the MILF will lead until an elected government is in place.
The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Records obtained on Wednesday from state auditors overseeing spending of ARMM infrastructure funds showed that the regional government has constructed 1,587 kilometers of roads in the past five years.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
Philstar
x
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Trending
By Cecille Suerte Felipe | 1 day ago
By Elijah Felice Rosales | 2 days ago
By Neil Jayson Servallos | 2 days ago
By Ghio Ong | 1 day ago
Latest
By Emmanuel Tupas | 9 hours ago
9 hours ago
By Ric Obedencio | 9 hours ago
By Rhodina Villanueva | 9 hours ago
Recommended
9 hours ago
1 day ago
1 day ago
2 days ago