MAYOR Sebastian Duterte pointed out that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has jurisdiction over the non-functioning lights on the Davao City Coastal Road.
The mayor explained that the DPWH manages major roads like coastal roads, including their streetlights, while interior and barangay roads are projects under the City Engineer’s Office.
“You need to understand that we have a national and local government, so there are government agencies like the DPWH, which is a national agency,” the Mayor said.
“Our city engineers handle the interior roads, while highways and high-traffic roadways are their responsibility,” he said during the Basta Dabawenyo Program last Sunday.
He added, “Barangay roads are ours, so people need to understand that we have national and local responsibilities.”
Meanwhile, the mayor called the DPWH incompetent and shameless for their failures, including the destruction of roads that were still in good condition.
” Like these street lights on the coastal road, those were installed by the DPWH. So you see, I told you you are incompetent. You have involvement, yet you’re not ashamed of your failures, even when you destroy roads,” he further said.
Therefore, he said, the DPWH should repair and address the darkness in the portion of the coastal road.
It can be recalled that the agency revealed that the theft of electrical cables from the streetlights was the reason why they were damaged.