SENATE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE APPROVES HOUSE BILLS CREATING NEW ENGINEERING DISTRICTS

The Senate Committee on Public Works, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr., on Tuesday approved nine bills from the House of Representatives, mostly seeking the creation of new district engineering offices in different provinces of the country.

Marcos said that the creation of new engineering districts may be necessary to ensure more efficient implementation of public works projects.

He added there was no impediment to the creation of the engineering districts. "As long as these proposals satisfy the minimum requirements for the creation of new engineering districts, I don't see any reason why we should not allow it," he said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) requires new engineering districts to have at least 100 kilometers of national roads, a land area of 100 square kilometers, and a population of at least 250,000, among other factors.

By far, three of the nine bills have been approved either in the committee level or up to the second reading stage in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the previous Congress.

"We don't have to start from scratch in all these legislative proposals. We can take note of the hearings that went before, so the findings of the appropriate committees can be part of our committee report," Marcos said.

During the hearing, representatives from the DPWH and the Department of Budget and Management did not object to the bills as long as they complied with the minimum requirements.

The House bills approved in Tuesday's hearing included bills establishing new engineering offices in the following areas: Pangasinan; Labo, Camarines Sur; Lapu Lapu City; Bukidnon; Compostela Valley; and Matalam, North Cotabato.

Also approved were bills transferring the Sorsogon Second District Engineering Office; upgrading the Bohol Sub-District Engineering Office; and defining the jurisdiction of the First District Engineering Office in Bohol.