A city councilor is planning to file a proposed ordinance regulating the conduct of excavations in the city.
Coun. Fausto Budlong shared the information during a radio interview over Open Forum program on Sept. 8, 2022, hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Dave Albarado.
Budlong said he was prompted to create a proposed ordinance regulating excavations due to issues he observed during his time as captain of barangay San Isidro, Tagbilaran City.
“Ato man gud namatikdan ‘no, when I was still the barangay captain sa barangay San Isidro, nga daghan kaayo tang constituents nga mi-complain kay wala silay tubig, kay naigo ang ilang linya and then ang atong mga karsada gipang-excavate nila sa mga contractors nga wala ma properly ug fully restored,” he said.
If the proposed ordinance gets approved, the contractor is now bound to properly and fully restore the excavation area.
Moreover, the excavation contractor should let the public know when the project will be finished after which said contractor will fully restore the excavated area.
“Naay mga gipang backfill nga makita nato nga mura ug mobuntod. Murag makurat ta kay muburot. Ang uban niana kulang ug backfill ug usahay moubos pud. Ato gyud na hatagan ug importansya for the safety sa publiko.” Budlong explained.
He said that there are contractors who would leave and forget their excavation to the detriment of public safety.
Likewise, Budlong wants the excavation contractors to place proper early warning signages in order to prevent potential accidents from happening.
Budlong said that in the event of damage occurring to existing infrastructure in the course of the excavation, it is the responsibility of the contractor to fix the problem.
“Dapat sila [contractor] gyud, sila gyud ang mo-fully restore. Ang uban gani mga tubo sa tubig nga maigo nila ila rang butangan ug interior ug bangan-banganan. So, ako dili ko musugot niana. Dapat butangan ug coupling para dili magleak ang tubig,” Budlong quipped during the interview.
Currently, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) has limited powers to discipline the erring excavation contractors and the proposed ordinance will be the one to fix the problem.
“Up to this time, wala sila’y [City Engineer’s Office] gahum kay wala pa may ordinansa. Pero once gani nga mapasa nato ang ordinansa so ang City Engineer gyud ang mo-implement niana, maoy mo-inspect, mo-penalty kanila,” Budlong told the program anchors during the interview.
Budlong said his proposed ordinance will be filed in the next regular session of the Sangguniang Panglungsod as he is still awaiting additional data coming from the CEO.