Dion paved Dagupan City’s “Abortion Road”

Despite absence of Funds

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY– “What abortion road?” posed by the new chief of the Pangasinan’s 2nd Engineering Office of the Department of Publics Works & Highway when asked if the construction of the rough and tumble Tambak-Tebeng Road  here has already been started.

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New District Engineer Rodolfo Dion

District Engineer Rodolfo Dion said that despite the absence of the P11 Million Special Allotment and Release Order (SARO) allocation from the Department of Agriculture he saw to it that three days after occupying his post  in Lingayen, Pangasinan early this month the road had been paved by his office’s road grader where his personnel will cover soon the potholes and put asphalt on some parts of the two kilometers road.

The controversial road here has been dubbed by the media as the worst road for pregnant women.

 “If you want to mitigate a badly conditioned road, one does not need a SARO to expedite the solution of the road there,” he said.

He stressed that he immediately used his modicum’s office funds and asked some friends in the construction business to pool some P40,000 for diesel of the grader, gravel, asphalt, and snacks to smoothen the road.

He said the two kilometers road is not totally badly shaped.

“There were some portions that we have paved to ease up the motorists who use it”.

When asked that he has beaten his two predecessors in solving the discomfort given by the perennial “hell road” to motorists, Dion, whose last assignment was DE in Ilocos Sur, downplayed the compliment.

“I was just doing my job”

The concreting of the Tambak-Tebeng Road needs more than P40 million for the entire two kilometers road.

Former DE Tangco told earlier this paper that the P11 million funds for the construction of the Tambac-Tebeng road came from a realignment of the D.A in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

“But this road was included in the list of projects to be funded by the Department of Agriculture. They are going to release P11 million but it is not enough,” she stressed.

Tangco said without SARO her office could not bid out the construction of the road that traverses two villages here.

She cited that concreting of one kilometer costs the government P20 million that already included slope protection against flood.

She expounded that without slope protection one kilometer will be between P16 million to P20 million.

“Gagawin na namin 0.28 (meters) ang thickness or almost one foot because it will be an alternative road. Hindi na siya puwedeng i-design ng barangay (road) lang,” she stressed.

The 0.28 meter solidification is a national standard for a national highway.

Meanwhile, Dion said his last assignment in Ilocos Sur covers 24 towns under a first class congressional district.

Although that province this year has an allocation of more than P800 million versus the P600 million  in his new post that covers the 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts of Pangasinan, Dion was happy that he was back in his old post.

“It’s nice to be back since I know a lot of people here,” the soft spoken native of Dagupan City said.