Pavia seeks Senate probe of stalled Aganan flyover

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

After nearly six years of inconvenience to motorists and commuters, the local government of Pavia will ask the Senate to investigate the delayed PHP 802 million Aganan Flyover.

Vice Mayor Edsel Gerochi said the Sangguniang Bayan will submit a resolution to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the infrastructure whose construction has been stalled for three years.

The committee handles probes of alleged anomalies, corruption, and irregularities in government projects and public funds utilization.

Gerochi said the immediate priority should be securing funds to complete the flyover, with questions of accountability addressed afterward.

“Our only request is to prioritize first what can be budgeted. Finish the project while the case proceeds. We are not concerned whether someone will be implicated — the important thing is to complete the work,” he said Tuesday.

The vice mayor added that the council will also transmit a resolution to Congress urging lawmakers to prioritize funding for the Aganan Flyover.

The Department of Public Works and Highways Western Visayas (DPWH-6) said it has proposed PHP 285 million to complete the flyover in the 2026 National Expenditure Program, though the budget is not guaranteed and may be excluded from the final national budget.

“We are hoping that this will be budgeted in 2026. We have been suffering from this flyover for almost 5–6 years,” he said.

He said he has asked Senator Loren Legarda to assist in securing funds to complete the flyover.

Construction began in November 2019 with an original target completion date of June 2023, but the project was suspended in October 2022 at 81.62% completion.

Gerochi said the Pavia council has not been tone-deaf to the plight of residents and commuters.

He noted that through resolutions since 2023, the council has consistently sought updates from DPWH on the project’s status, results of the geotechnical study, and jet grouting works, among others.

The vice mayor placed primary blame on United Technology Consolidated Partnership (UTCP), the consultancy firm commissioned by the DPWH Bureau of Design to conduct soil testing and prepare the flyover’s design.

“The contractor simply follows the design that is given. The fault rests with the engineers who conducted the soil tests — they are the most accountable. Soil testing is the most critical part of construction,” he said.

DPWH-6 said UTCP miscalculated the depth of the foundation needed, which caused discrepancies with confirmatory tests by DPWH-6 and a third-party consultant that found the solid ground much deeper than UTCP reported.

UTCP initially placed the depth at 20 to 30 meters, while confirmatory tests recommended depths of 44 to 50 meters.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said the provincial government would help lobby for funds to complete the project.

“We are urging that this be expedited. We join any call to fast-track the implementation or completion of the project. It is important that it be done right,” he said, adding that authorities want to ramp up the investigation so it yields concrete results that can lead to solutions.