By Melvin C. Gascon
Residents and local officials are demanding accountability from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 2 over the controversial Tuguegarao City West Diversion By-Pass Road, which they say remains unfinished yet is already showing defects.
Unfinished road shows cracks
Photos of the bypass road shared on social media show thin concrete layers, sunken portions, and repeated resurfacing despite the project not being fully connected from the Department of Health (DOH) regional office in Barangay Carig to the Bagay By-Pass Road.
Photos showed workers boring steel bars on the concrete pavement, which has shown cracks and “scaling,” or the flaking or peeling of the concrete surface. This is apparently an attempt to salvage the structural integrity of the pavement, according to sources.
Locals fear that supposed “repairs” are being disguised as a new “Phase 4” of the project, raising questions about the use of public funds.
P176 million worth
According to DPWH data, the Tuguegarao West Diversion Road (Package 1) is implemented by JC Palomo Construction Corp. under two contract items: P149.4 million and P26.6 million.
However, the agency’s website does not include detailed stationing, making it difficult to determine which segments correspond to each contract.
Netizens’ frustration
Netizens have voiced anger online, accusing the DPWH and its contractors of wasting taxpayers’ money.
“Millions of pesos were budgeted and this is all you can do? That’s just a patch-up job on substandard work,” resident Marlon Arugay wrote on Facebook.
He noted that the flooring of some houses in the city appears sturdier than the road, which has started to crack despite not being opened to traffic.
“You should dig it up and fix the mistakes properly, not just cover them up. Have some compassion, and a little shame too,” Arugay added.
Accountability issues
In a statement, City Mayor Maila Ting-Que also criticized the DPWH for poor-quality projects and repeated delays, including on the Carig By-Pass Road.
She said her office had filed multiple reports to the agency but received only limited responses.
“The people deserve to know why projects remain incomplete after so long. We have raised these concerns many times,” Ting-Que said.
The mayor flagged reports of contractors working late into the night, including a flood control project along Caritan Creek, which supposedly fueled suspicion that construction was being rushed to cover earlier lapses.
She clarified that her inspections were not politically motivated but based on complaints from concerned residents.
DPWH responds
Sought for comment, DPWH Region 2 acting director Mathias Malenab said he has already admonished the contractor for the sloppy work.
“I ordered them to fix that problem because that is not how it is supposed to be done,” Malenab said in a phone interview.
Call for vigilance
Ting-Que urged Tuguegarao citizens to continue reporting irregularities in DPWH projects to ensure accountability, stressing that public money is already being spent on a bypass road that remains defective and unusable.#
