By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Went to Abatan, Buguias the other week and saw the result of the concreting of the road just before the center of that town from Baguio which was done several months ago. The concreting was causing heavy traffic but, as usual, people endured it.
Now it appears to have already been turned over to the government, that is, it was finished. Like any government project, it is substandard. There are no gutters or canals in most areas so the road looks like a river when it rains hard. Stones and mud are all over the road. It will not be long before the expensive concrete would be gone. That means our money or the taxes we paid were misspent again.
Benguet Governor Diclas is from Buguias so he must have been negotiating that road countless times already. We presume that he is an effective governor so he should act on that glaring anomaly right away. First thing that should be done is to stop payment to the contractor if that were still possible. Then cause the firing of the provincial DPWH official who allowed the substandard result to happen.
If he will just let that kind of project pass, many Benguet travelers will note that and who will they vote for three years from now? Gov. Diclas, being a seasoned politician knows the answer to that. So he will act accordingly.
Anther money-waster was the closure of Kennon Road for a supposed bridge rehabilitation or road repairs. Travelers to and from the lowlands have to take the much longer Marcos Highway resulting in traffic due to the big number of vehicles plying that route.
It had been more than a year since that road was closed and it is very disgusting to find out that nobody is working there to finish whatever problem there was. This I found out from a friend who often goes to Camp 3 and Camp !. “Kasla awan met agtatrabaho idiay,” he said. In effect, the DPWH is just needlessly making us suffer by forcing us to take the long way when Kennon Road can be opened to the public.
It is high time DPWH officials are shown the highway towards their homes never to work again in that agency.
And who are badly affected by Kennon Road’s closure? These are the constituents of the Tuba mayor and the governor and congressman of Benguet who have to act pronto if they expect to be voted again.
Yes, dear readers, we should use the power of our votes to make government officials act on matters that are making our lives miserable.
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I was in a family court the other day where annulment of marriage cases are tried. Many of the witnesses presented on that day cited vices like drinking, womanizing and gambling as the causes why they wanted their marriage to be annulled. These are alleged symptoms of psychological incapacity to perform the duties and obligations of a married life.
For these people and their families, illegal gambling and other vices must be eradicated otherwise the basic element of a country or a nation which is the family will be compromised. This will translate to a weak nation, or in our case, an even weaker nation.
So was I glad to see the police report today (on page two of this issue) where a gambling den was raided in Bokawkan Road. Unfortunately it was not the well known and perennial gambling venue also on that road. The illegal gambling there is a big operation.
Last thing I heard the other week about that place, illegal gambling is still going on there. I hope that was a wrong info for the sake of families, wives and children who, invariably, are the victims of the effects of such vice. Inexorably, it results in domestic violence and lack of economic resources to assure a better future, especially, for the kids.
Hopefully, the mayor will live up to his promise to illeminate illegal gambling.**
