For the public, road construction can be an eyesore as well as a source of headache due to the traffic congestion it brings, especially when it's fresh in the memory that it's just been built and once again being repaved.
During deliberations of a Senate finance subcommittee on the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency explained that this is part of preventive maintenance and reconstruction.
"There is a point when the road starts to deteriorate and it would be more economical to undertake preventive maintenance," DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said.
"Maganda pa yung tingin ninyo (It may look fine) but actually the pavement starts to deteriorate. It would be more economical to repave it at that point in time so that we can actually save the base and subbase," he added.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III emphasized this issue and even mentioned that he raised this when he was still a law student through a letter to the editor but received a technical answer.
"Mahirap paniwalaan eh (It's hard to believe). It goes against the inputs of our senses, nakikita ng mata mo, maayos pa eh, tapos sasabihin sayo hindi sa ilalim bulok na ‘yan (you see it with your own eyes that it still looks fine but you'll be told that underneath it's already deteriorating).. And yet kapag may nakita ka na tunay na bulok na e hindi naman inaaksyunan (when you see a road that's actually crumbling, they don't act on it)," he said.
Bonoan said that currently, the agency has a computer system that monitors the conditions of roads and bridges all over the country which gives them a "good inventory" of them.
He added that they also have a pavement management system that tells them what is the condition of the road or bridge the kind of intervention that they should undertake.
Meanwhile, Pimentel also expressed the need to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 8794, specifically referring to the provision regarding overloading under Section 6. This was after Bonoan noted that the country has one of the highest axle load limits which is at 13.5 tons, which is also indicated under Section 6. He mentioned that the current is too "liberal" in comparison to other countries that only have 9.5 to 11-ton limits.
He said that the axle load limit should be addressed first since if it's too heavy for the roads, there will be a repeating cycle of criticism on the part of DPWH for maintaining and reconstructing roads that have just been finished.
A new policy, according to Pimentel should aim to preserve, safeguard, and prolong the life span of public works especially roads and highways as well as protect public funds.
He also pointed out that the life span of roads, in the eyes of the public is not being reached due to the periodic maintenance works yet in order for the extent of the public works to be maximized, these are necessary.
"Ako rin ang aking layman's expectation kasi roon is 15 years walang galaw. (My simple expectation of this is that 15 years it [roads] will not be touched. To reach that 15 years you need these periodic maintenance works on the road," Pimentel added.