by Liza Abubakar-Jocson

Millions of pesos worth of funds intended for the first ever flyover in Zamboanga City were reverted to the national government’s coffers due to non-implementation of the project.

DPWH Project Engineer Pilar Rivera said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) instructed them to process the allocation of P500-million back to the national government.

Then congressman Celso Lobregat was able to secure P600-million in funds for two flyover projects in 2018.

The flyovers were to be constructed at the junction of Maria Clara Lobregat Highway and Governor Camins and Veterans Avenues and at the intersection of the Labuan- Limpapa Gabilan-San Roque streets to ease traffic congestion in these areas.

Funds for the flyover at the intersection of Labuan-Limpapa Gabilan and San Roque streets were reverted due to technicalities.

The second project was stalled after the local government insisted on widening the road leading to the flyover prior to construction to prevent traffic congestion in the area.

Rivera said funds under phase 1 of the project were never used due to the lack of an executive order from Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordering the closure of two innermost lanes along the affected street necessary for the project’s implementation.

Meanwhile, funds for another mammoth project, the 36-kilometer bypass road in Zamboanga city, were also reverted to the national government after delays in its completion.

The road project, dubbed as Zamboanga’s superhighway, is envisioned to be an alternative route to link the city’s east and west coasts.

The project, started in the year 2012, is said to be 90% complete but there are sections which are still under repair after being damaged before the project’s completion.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2022/01/09/funds-for-flyover-reverted-due-to-non-implementation/