Asphalting requests surge in Cebu City after elections

CEBU, Philippines — New requests for asphalting projects continue to pour in from various areas in Cebu City after the May 12 midterm elections. As of now, the overall completion rate of the city's asphalting program stands at 80 percent.

Councilor Jerry Guardo, chairman of the committee on infrastructure, confirmed that the project remains funded by the P100 million allocated under supplemental budget (SB) 1. Of this amount, P1.2 million remains unutilized.

“These funds,” he said, “will be used to complete the still-pending projects, including those requests that are still on the table of the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW).”

Guardo previously stated they were targeting a 90 percent completion rate following the elections. Currently, upcoming projects are slated for implementation in the barangays of Apas, Lahug, and Banilad, after also securing approval from Cebu Province.

With Guardo’s term ending this June, he assured the public that the asphalting projects will move forward, noting that the executive department is already preparing an additional budget under SB 2. He also mentioned that several projects have already been outlined but are still awaiting supplier bidding.

“This will be utilized sa bag-o na nga administration,” Guardo said.

The city’s so-called “asphalt storm” began around October last year. While the goal has always been to fulfill all requests and achieve 100 percent completion, Guardo admitted that more requests have continued to come in, particularly from subdivisions and province-owned lots located in large barangays.

“And these are new requirements napud which are not included in the previous and pending requests nato, naa say mga consents nga need nato i-secure from private subdivisions and I think this can be addressed and covered atong budget nga P100 million,” he explained.

One major hurdle in accelerating the project has been a lack of equipment. Guardo pointed out that the city government only has five dump trucks available, which has limited their capacity for quicker implementation.

“Dili jud ta makapaspas because of our resources. But padayon rata,” he said, adding that there are five teams working on the project, each capable of handling up to two dump trucks.

Despite the constraints, Guardo emphasized that reaching 80 percent completion is already a noteworthy achievement.

The “asphalt storm” had stirred attention earlier, particularly when Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said the backlog of road projects stemmed from previous administrations and attributed the delays to “overwhelming requests.”

Prior to that, some members of the Cebu City Council had pointed out that the surge in asphalting projects appeared to coincide with the election season, raising concerns over timing—even though the proposals dated back several years. –/FPL (FREEMAN)