City Hall exec wants engineers to go over Ungka flyover ‘settlement report’

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon is proposing to let structural engineers evaluate the settlement monitoring report of the Department of Public Works and Highways-Western Visayas (DPWH-6) on the defective Ungka flyover since it was opened to light vehicles.

“Dapat ang engineer nga sa atun amo na ang ma check para may peace of mind ang iban nga mga opisyales. Mangkuton ta na ang mga engineers ta diri sa city […] Mayad na kay makuhaan ta sila sang expert opinion,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

During a committee hearing on September 28, the city council requested the Department of Public Works and Highways-Western Visayas (DPWH-6) to provide daily reports on the settlement monitoring of the defective flyover.

Ganzon’s office received a 3-page report on Monday. The report includes monitoring photos and settlement figures of the flyover from May 2022-January 17, 2023; January 18, 2023-September 21, 2023, and September 22 to 30, 2023.

Data from the report showed that since the flyover’s partial opening to light vehicles on September 22, there were no vertical displacements observed or monitored and no noticeable manifestations of any distress were spotted in the superstructure.

The interior lane of the four-lane flyover is open to four-wheeled vehicles, including traditional and modernized jeepneys, and accessible to light vehicles from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“Sa report nila daw safe na kuno. Wala kuno sang movement sa one week nila nga monitoring. At least pasalamat kita nga gina try nila i-appease man ang tawo nga may safety man,” Ganzon added.

But despite this, the city vice mayor will give DPWH-6 the “benefit of the doubt.”

Ganzon said that he will also remind DPWH-6 to provide the city council with daily observation reports, rather than a cumulative weekly report of their daily observations.

“Talagaan ko pa gani tanan nga city councilors sini kay ang ila assurance sa amon, ang tanan nga councilors tagaan nila daily monitoring nila.

“Amo man to ang gin hatag nila ng assurance, may stenographic notes kita dira. I-remind ta lang sila. Sulatan sila ka i-attach ang stenographic notes nga ang monitoring result nila daily,” he said.

DPWH-6 director officer-in-charge Sanny Boy Oropel previously said that they are closely monitoring the possible vertical displacements of the flyover not until the rectification works are underway.

“Our monitoring will be there. Gina monitor ta ni ang displacement niya gihapon. We will not stop the monitoring until the rectification will be made,” he said.

The DPWH-6 is waiting for its central office to release the initial fund of P100 million for the rectification works of the flyover.

Once the budget is released, Oropel said the structure will be immediately closed to give way to the works.