ARAYAT, Pampanga – Quick was the DPWH in explaining the cause of the collapsed dike in Barangay Candating here on Aug. 17. That it was the saturation of the embankment “exacerbated by recent typhoons, an intensified southwest monsoon, and water seepage from nearby residential areas, [placing] undue stress on the structure” with the “combined weight of the sheet piles and concrete capping further contributed to the structural failure” and a “whirlpool-like formation on the river side of the sheet piles may have further penetrated the embankment, worsening the saturation and leading to the collapse.”
Notwithstanding the posted notices on the P91.485-million project where the contractor was prominently named, there was no mention of it in the DPWH statement issued on Aug 18. And given the gravity of the damage, it was rather uncanny of DPWH to fail – miserably — to even mention what the contractor is bound to do to correct such epic engineering failure, including possible compensation to the households damaged and/or imperiled by the dike collapse; what sanctions it would impose on the contractor, etc. – the usual provisos in contracts, government or private.
In effect, the DPWH stood for the contractor not only as spokesperson but its very front. This, not a few netizens noticed, thereby sending Punto! some photos that they hoped could unravel – even if only partly – the story behind the collapse of dike in Candating which could impact on the other projects DPWH awarded to this contactor, er, contractor. The Editor/Contributed photos
