Tiles and tires

When Twinkling asked about it, I waited for somebody to claim ownership of the tiling of both sidewalks along Lacson Street from the Regional Hospital northward. As of yesterday the work had reached in front of the Capitol. But I haven’t heard a squeak as yet as to proponent of this project.

Twinkling is also at a “loss” about the ownership of this project. That is understandable because she does not pass this way each working day, but I do and in two places I saw the sign indicating this is the project of Bacolod Cong. Anthony Golez because his name is there asking people’s understanding of the inconvenience. That settles the question of ownership.

However, I wonder why it is only the name of the congressman there. I remember that the idea of this project was voiced out during last year’s MassKara Festival to make the area more beautiful with the tiles. The sidewalks of Lacson Street, especially the area that the city had declared a tourism strip really needs a lot of improvement (and cleanliness besides).

That was a good idea, I think because the sidewalks are an affront to the sensibilities of people and a hazard not only because there are cracks and holes on them but because they are uneven and proliferating with sidewalk vendors particularly in front of the hospital and the line of drugstores.

Each establishment in that area has its own version of a sidewalk that in truth are being used as parking spaces. This violates the Building Code – about required parking spaces for buildings and the right of pedestrians to open space. How many commercial buildings there have their parking space as required by the Building Code?

Even the estero has disappeared, taken over by a building there. Who authorized it? Surely it must have a building permit otherwise the building cannot be occupied, so I presume the CEO has given the go signal although there are buildings over the esteros that simply usurped public domain. Anyway that will be for another time.

A cursory walk along Lacson and in other places in this city exposes this mindlessness, absence of incoherent rules on their construction and inability of the Department of Public Works and Highways to insure that sidewalks are for pedestrians, should be even (and prevent what Twinkling reported) and of course free of vendors.

Lacson Street in particular is a national road and within the authority of DPWH, not the Bacolod City Engineer’s Office, but I wonder whether the workers putting on the tiles are from DPWH or private contractor.

Anyway, whose project is this? Some months ago there was a tarpaulin raised in front of PNB declaring that this project is a joint effort of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel and Cong. Golez and if I remember right the budget for this project is P10 million.

However, if this is a joint project, how come that on the site where work is going on, only the name of Golez appears? This is understandable, though, because Golez is Bacolod’s congressman and he is the one who is asking for an apology for the inconvenience. I wonder what Pimentel would be thinking because a project is always good for politicians and both Golez and Pimentel are up for reelection next year.

As to whether this project is contracted or not is another question. If the money for this project is from the regular DPWH budget then it comes to reason that the DPWH personnel would be at work. If not, was bidding held? That is a question we need to look into.

As for the tires, Oriental Negros Vice Governor Apolinario Arnaiz, Jr. must have been impressed by the used tires to create artificial coral reefs that he found in Iloilo.

This is nothing new. This kind of artificial coral reef has been in this country since the time of martial law when the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Fisheries started collecting discarded tires, tied them with nylon cords and dumped them into the sea where in due time the fish would breed.

Although the artificial reef takes time to develop algae, the fact that fish could take refuge there and breed free from predators is good enough.

The experience of Governor Alfredo Marañon when he was Sagay City mayor is worth recalling, but space limitation prevents detailed presentation. Suffice to say this project developed into the present Carbin Reef. I saw a video documentation of these reefs which was brought to the US.

Arnaiz is on the right track. In fact, not only tires but those concrete boulders caused by the earthquake can be dumped into the sea to form better coral reefs. Hundreds of these concrete boulders, removed due to highway construction were also dropped in several places along the coast of Occidental Negros.*

back to top