20 hours ago
Cracks, holes mar P94.5-million flood control project in Camiling
A flood control project in Camiling, Tarlac, appears to be deteriorating, with holes on the surface and the steel bars underneath already visible, two years after construction started in 2023.
According to Ian Cruz's report in '24 Oras' on Wednesday, residents said the project somehow eased the floods, which used to rise to the waist or chest. But they are now worried that the floodway will completely deteriorate soon.
'Sa amin naman, sir, gusto namin ipaabot sa mahal na Presidente na sana matingnan naman itong slope dito sa barangay namin dito sa Pindangan II, Camiling, Tarlac para mapagtuunan naman niya ng pansin mga pinaggagawa ng contractor,' said resident Ronaldo Baltazar.
(For our part, we want to convey to our dear President that we are hoping that he can look into this slope here in our barangay, Pindangan II, Camiling, Tarlac. This way, he can focus his attention on what the contractor has done.)
The slope protection project is worth P94.5 million and was handled by Flordes Construction. GMA Integrated News is trying to reach out to the said contractor.
But in the next visit of GMA Integrated News to the site, the first district engineering office of Tarlac was conducting repairs to the project, particularly on the holes and cracks found.
The most expensive flood control project in the country can also be found in Camiling–the Camiling-Agno River Floodway Phase 3, which costs P289.5 million.
While it helped during the heavy rains brought by the series of tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon, cracks are now visible in the lower portion.
But the Department of Public Works and Highways said that the cracks on the cement are nothing to be worried about, as they are normal during hot weather. It added that it can be easily fixed, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Phase 4 of the project has almost the same budget as Phase 3. But there were no problems so far, the barangay said.
