“Act now or face civil and criminal cases”- Fernando to Bustos Dam contractors

CITY OF MALOLOS– Governor Daniel R. Fernando gave the contractors of the damaged rubber bladder of the Angat Afterbay Regulation Dam or Bustos Dam 10 days to act on his demand letter or face civil and criminal case.

“We must act now. We demand the immediate removal and replacement of all six gates under the contract for Bustos Dam. Kapag hindi, I will not hesitate to file civil and criminal cases sa lahat ng kasangkot sa usaping ito,” the governor said during his privilege speech in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan session held at the Benigno Aquino Sr. Session Hall in this city today.

He also challenged the members of the SP headed by their Presiding Officer and Vice Gov. Alexis Castro to conduct an investigation regarding the matter.

This is after the ITP Construction, Inc. and Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co. Ltd. failed to repair the damaged rubber bladder at the Bay 5 of Bustos Dam which occurred only a year after its rehabilitation and while the contract is still under warranty.

The governor said that the contractors has been ignoring the countless follow ups and demand letters sent to them by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in close coordination with the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB).

Fernando also called out NIA to take responsibility on the delay of the repair of the damaged rubber gate which could impact 15,706 hectares of rice and vegetable area with 12,904 farmers with an estimated loss of P880,964,445 to P2,690,255,147 to the agriculture sector; and could negatively affect 80 barangays from two provinces with an expected loss of lives in the thousands once it collapsed.

In June 2020, the rubber gate at Bay 5 of Bustos Dam collapsed allegedly due to the inferior quality of materials used by the contractor in the rehabilitation of the said dam.

In addition, while the governor is in favor of the benefits that will be brought to the farmers of Bulacan through the construction of Bayabas Dam, he asked the NIA to communicate to him the specifics of the project.

“Batid po natin na pinag-aralan ang proyekto na ito at dagdag na irigasyon ito sa ating mga magsasaka sa lalawigan. Gayunman, bilang Punong Lalawigan ng Bulacan na siyang mag-iiwi sa proyekto, marapat lamang po na mabigyan tayo ng karampatang detalye patungkol dito,” he said. ###