Last week’s meeting of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s Committee on Transportation regarding the request of the Gigmoto-Virac Transport Service Cooperative to stop the operation of the Cat Island Express initially got sidetracked by another issue.
A provincial board member questioned the installation of a prefabricated waiting shed, which he referred to as a bus terminal, along Imelda boulevard in front of the RSL bus terminal.
The installation, PBM Jose Romeo Francisco said, would set a precedent for other people and entities interested in occupying similar parts of the boulevard for the same purpose.
Why not use the RSL bus terminal, he asked, since it is being used by the Bicol Isarog Transport System, Inc. and Penafrancia Bus Tours & Travel, the sister companies of Cat Island Express?
In reply, officials of the bus company admitted it did not have a permit from the local government unit of Virac to install the prefab waiting shed on the boulevard.
They said they saw the need for such a temporary structure, noting that passengers bound for northern towns had been using the same area to wait for Cat Island Express buses, exposed to the sun and rain.
For a permanent terminal, the company officials said they have plans for it but did not provide details.
The company apologized for the violation and vowed to remove the shed, which is not anchored or fixed to the boulevard, by Monday.
To his credit, however, committee chairman PBM Josevan Balidoy said he was not asking for the temporary structure’s removal, only that proper courtesy and respect for the law be followed by the company.
Not one of the honorable board members present, however, saw the need to ask why the company is not using the Provincial Integrated Terminal and Business Complex (PITBC) inside the Virac LGU’s Community Hub in San Isidro Village.
The terminal and business complex, to the ordinary constituent, would appear to have been completed and ready to accept public utility vehicles, the riding public as well as business establishments.
Indeed, according to knowledgeable municipal officials and based on official records of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional office which implemented the project, the facility costing at least P150 million has already been turned over to the LGU in January 2022.
It was former Mayor Sinforoso Sarmiento who accepted the project and signed the Certificate of Completion and Turnover, which was the basis for the release of final payment to the Manila-based contractor.
The problem, however, is that the contractor has yet to install the power transformers needed for the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) to be able to provide electricity to the terminal and business complex.
Another item allegedly not installed by the contractor, according to an investigation initiated by Mayor Samuel Laynes shortly after taking office, was the water connection. The transfer of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to the Community Hub, prompted the LGU to ask the Virac Water District to connect its building to the distribution system.
It is claimed that the uninstalled power transformer is the main reason why the Laynes administration has refused to accept the project as completed and, in fact, sought an investigation by the Commission on Audit of the matter.
Until now, four months after the request was made both to the COA regional and national offices, the COA has yet to act on the LGU’s request.
Perhaps, PBM Balidoy’s committee, or at the very least its Sangguniang Bayan counterpart, should look into the matter and probably lend the weight of appropriate legislative action to bear on the DPWH regional office and the COA so that an end to the issue is achieved.
The longer both government agencies drag their feet on Laynes’ complaint, the more the riding public will lose, both in enjoying the benefits of the facility and ensuring that taxpayers’ money is properly spent.