DAVAO CITY (September 30) – Davao del Norte’s provincial government stated on Friday that it will form a special inspection team to scrutinize important national projects in the province, including the PHP400 million Tuganay Bridge project in Carmen town.
The project began in 2021, was halted in 2022, and was resumed in 2023. Governor Edwin Jubahib had earlier declared that he had ordered an investigation to ascertain its current state. The northbound lane of the bridge remains incomplete, while the southbound lane opened to traffic in December 2023.
“To avoid bias during the inspection, I included 15 mega-provincial projects. Also, the Department of Public Works and Highways and National Irrigation Administration projects,” Jubahib stated, adding that the inspection team’s primary purpose is to bring charges against contractors and authorities involved for problematic projects.
“That’s what we are going to do, to see to it that the national budget and provincial local budget were implemented,” Jubahib told the media.The statement came after Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon directed the DPWH-11 (Davao Region) to present him with detailed information about the Tuganay Bridge project on Thursday.
“This is the first time I’ve heard it here. “Send it to me [details], and we’ll look into it,” Dizon stated.
