Dagupan still rejects new classrooms
DESPITE CONTRACTOR’S ASSURANCE
THE school buildings built under the Public-Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP) are ready for occupancy but the Dagupan City government is in no rush to use them because it maintains the structural issues it raised have not been addressed.
Engr. Virgina Rosario, city engineer, reiterated the city’s position after she and Mayor Belen T. Fernandez. Conducted another inspection of the new school building in Federico N. Ceralde Integrated School in Barangay Bonuan Binloc and a meeting with the BF Construction and Department of Education (DepEd) officials from the central and local office on Monday, September 29.
She said the permits will be granted by the city government but she said has not seen any improvement in the building to address the issues her office raised last month.
Consequently, the construction of other school buildings in 11 schools under the PSIP in other schools remain suspended.
Among the structural issues raised were the light materials used that make the temperature inside the classrooms too hot to bear, the ground elevation that makes the building susceptible to flooding, and the requirement for a two-storey building as mandated by the city ordinance.
The BF Construction, however, maintained during a press conference held here last September 29, that the classrooms built by the company passed structural standards of the national government and warrants the buildings to be durable and safe.
BF Construction’s Engr. Reynaldo Dela Cruz said the classroom were built following specifications and budget approved by DepEd. “It is our advocacy to build more classrooms but not risking the safety of students over profit,” he said.
BF Construction is under contract with the DepEd to build 2, 157 classrooms in the region with a P400,000 budget per classroom and according to Dela Cruz, under the build-operate transfer scheme, the contractor does not get paid until after 10 years, the specified period for the warranty.
Engr. Tony Pimentel, the company’s structural engineer also pointed out that the structures were designed for earthquakes, using the aerospace and auto moving technology.
According to BF Construction, the same buildings have been constructed in in Villasis, Bayambang and in provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur and are already being used. (Hilda Martin Austria/PNA)
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