PBBM wants strengthened participation of LGUs in project planning, monitoring
Photos and text by: Rimaliza A. Opina
TUBA, Benguet — Local government units should be made an integral part in the planning of government projects to ensure that these are what the community really needs.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized this during a briefing with reporters shortly after he inspected the rockshed at Barangay Camp 6, Kennon Road, Tuba, Benguet on 24 August. He also inspected rock nets along Camp 3.
The President said LGUs should not be treated as mere recipients of projects but should be involved from planning until completion.
Marcos said he plans on reinstituting the participation of LGUs as his way of addressing the complaint of many LGU officials whom he said, are made to accept projects that were not even planned by them.
“The practice was LGUs are consulted. Public hearings reaching all the way to the barangays are even conducted, but this was set aside,” the President said. He said LGUs are more aware of what they need, as opposed to projects determined by a select few officials.
PBBM’s comments about Tuba rock shed and rock nets
At the height of the monsoon rains last month, rocks and muddy water slid from the slopes close to the entrance from Camp 6 of the Kennon Road rock shed.
The incessant rains found its way to the ground and eroded the slope protection wall (commonly called kabite or riprap in the Cordillera) and a portion of the base of the rock shed. Drone shots, including footages by the Tuba Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office showed to some extent the damages incurred during the July monsoon.
The rock shed was built as shield against rockslides that frequently occur along Kennon Road, even during fair weather.
In his inspection last 24 August, Marcos Jr. said the rock shed did not fulfill its purpose. He also said slope protection was not sturdy enough to protect the nearby road from collapsing.
As a result, government funds went to waste. Worse, the livelihood of thousands of residents of Tuba, Benguet have been sacrificed because of the road’s closure, the President said.
The President likened the situation to economic sabotage for depriving the public benefits of paying their taxes and for loss of livelihood.
He added the public will continue to be at a disadvantage because the cost to restore will be double the contract price.
He also accused the Department of Public Works and Highways and other unnamed personalities of pocketing funds for the project. Marcos Jr. said that of P260 million total project cost, a sizeable amount went to kickbacks instead.
The President added that the rock nets have been overpriced. Quoting suppliers who are his acquaintances said the nets are only supposed to cost around P9,000 per square meter, not close to P12,000 per square meter as estimated by the DPWH.
LGU, DPWH officials’ comments
In a separate interview, Tuba Mayor Clarita Sal-ongan clarified that the rock shed has served its purpose. She told reporters had it not been for the structure’s presence, more damage could have been incurred especially at the slope under the shed.
Sal-ongan said DPWH initially intended to build along the precarious site slope protection walls only, but during the early parts of construction, rocks and soil continue to slide, which necessitated for the agency to reprogram the project, hence the construction of the rock shed.
However, Sal-ongan confirmed that the LGU was only informed about the project and was not consulted. She welcomes the President’s plan of involving the LGUs in the planning of projects in the localities.
The DPWH-CAR, meanwhile, made some clarifications about the President’s findings.
DPWH-CAR Chief of Planning and Design Division Arnold Dacwag said the damage at base of the rock shed was due to natural causes, not due to poor workmanship.
Dacwag, who was at the site during the inspection said what was heavily damaged was the slope protection wall near the tunnel’s entrance. The wall was exposed to the elements as a result of the above normal monsoon rains and slides, the reason for the damaged wall.
The wall was built 15 years ago, not recently, Dacwag added.
Other reasons cited for the damage were the fractured nature of Kennon Road, which has been in use as a major road going to and from Baguio for more than 100 years now and the unregulated pocket mining, which exacerbated the already unstable geologic condition of the road.
“Fractured na talaga ang slopes ng Kennon,” he said.
He said there is nothing to restore in the rock shed as the same remains sturdy and has helped lessen the impact of slides and the monsoon rains.
Dacwag also clarified the total project cost for the structure was estimated by a foreign consultant hired by DPWH Central Office, not by the agency itself.
Further, of the total project cost of P250 million (not P260M as the President announced) only P100M was released due to lack of funds. The rock shed, which was supposed to be 250 meters long is only P100 meters. The remaining part of the shed which was not constructed due to lack of funds, would have shielded the recently-damaged slope protection wall, Dacwag said.
On the allegation that the rock nets were overpriced, Dacwag said the DPWH needs to be clarified on the basis of the computation.
“There is a basis of computation based on textile strength and where it will be installed. If installed on a rock or gabaldon, magkakaiba ang psi (pounds per square inch) computation ng textile,” Dacwag told reporters.
The Kennon Road rock shed was built in January 2023 and completed in April 2025 by 3K Rock Engineering, a construction company based in Benguet.
