BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is rushing the construction of six coronavirus disease (COVID-19) facilities in Caraga region.
The six community quarantine facilities are located in Kilometer 3, Butuan City; in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte; in Barangay Consuelo, Bunawan town, Agusan del Sur; in Barangay Silop, Surigao City; in Barangay Tablon, Bislig City, Agusan del Sur, and in Barangay Cagniog, Surigao City.
Each of these community quarantine facilities had a budget allocation of P25 million.
The regional office of the DPWH here ordered all District Engineering Offices (DEOs) to step up the ground works of all quarantine facilities located in Northeastern Mindanao or Caraga region.
The DPWH also ordered all District Engineers (DEs) in the different DEOs to “go on the ground” to personally supervise the construction of quarantine facilities, in an effort to hit their target dates of completion.
Contractors of the quarantine facilities are only given 31 days to complete the construction of the facilities.
In his progress report to DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, DPWH 13 Regional Director Engr. Pol M. Delos Santos said the construction of the facilities are on time and all DEs, Project Engineers (PEs), and technical men are on deck.
Sec. Villar is supervising and monitoring all constructed community quarantine facilities throughout the country.
“Our men in the field are beating the deadline with good quality work,” Delos Santos said.
The DPWH is assisting various local government units (LGUs) in the region by through the construction of additional quarantine facilities, in attending to the needs of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipino workers (ROFs) who keep on arriving either by sweeper flights, regular flights, or via inter-island vessels, from Manila, Cebu, and other parts of the country.
The establishment of community quarantine facilities is also in full support of President Duterte’s “Hatid Tulong Program” (HTP) for LSIs and ROFs.
Each community quarantine facility has a 50-bed capacity equipped with nursing homes, comfort rooms, beds, WIFI, and CCTV, Delos Santos said.