‘Comprehensive’ infra integrity audit sought

A RESOLUTION urging the government to conduct a comprehensive review of the structural integrity of all bridges and flyovers, among other infrastructure, was filed at the House of Representatives on Monday.

Under House Resolution No. 2257, Manila Rep. Rolando M. Valeriano urged the Public Works and Transportation departments, Metro Manila Development Authority and local government units to review the structural soundness of overpasses, viaducts, aqueducts and other similar structures nationwide.

“This can be a daunting task for the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), but for the safety of the public, it must be done,” Mr. Valeriano, chairman of the House Metro Manila committee, said in a statement.

A P1.2-billion bridge in Isabela province buckled in February a month after it opened, which prompted Mr. Valeriano to push for a congressional hearing on the collapse.

The House resolution seeks to instruct the DPWH to conduct an audit of all bridge infrastructure within 90 days, which would be scrutinized by the House panels on public works, good government, and Metro Manila development so they could craft possible laws addressing infrastructure weaknesses.

“Such collapse and structural integrity issues of public infrastructures are not merely an ominous hazard to the safety of the public, but are a gross wastage of scarce government funds and resources,” the resolution read. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio