There are around 60,000 electrical poles in the country has left dangerous obstructions following road-widening projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The senate has raised concerned for another round during their meeting on the issue of the poles which left standing in the middle of the road.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who defended the budget during the plenary, says it will take P3.7 billion to relocate them. He urged the DPWH to remove the poles in the middle of the roads that cause hazards since funds have been allocated for their transfer as early as 2019.
The senator added that there was already a joint circular by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last year which says, "By end of 2019 Dec. 31, there should be no more obstruction on the road. We know it is the end of 2020 there are still 60,000 poles along the road."
"Interestingly, we also found out that in the work programs of those road widenings, the cost of removing those poles is embedded in those programs. It means that the government has been allocating funds to remove all those poles in all of the work programs."
The senator attributes these mistakes to a lack of coordination between the DOE and DPWH, stressing the issue to the two agencies.
"It is a simple lack of coordination. They should now implement those joint circulars because those specified how to execute this and I am requesting and mandating them that to finish the removal of the posts, by early part of next year because the funds are already there and all they have to do is sit down and work out a timetable to remove it."
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