The public can expect a more transparent monitoring of infrastructure initiatives being undertaken by the public works department, after the agency decided to form an ad-hoc body that will oversee the implementation of such projects.
The Infrastructure Monitoring Advisory Groups, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), will “enable participatory and transparent monitoring” during construction stage of big-ticket projects.
“Every major or big-ticket infrastructure project will now be monitored by an ad-hoc body to ensure its quality and timely implementation,” it said on Thursday.
The group will be composed of DPWH regional director; DPWH district engineer; local chief executives of local government unit where the project is located; project consultant; and project contractor.
Representatives from the business group; utilities companies affected; religious groups; civil-society organizations; the media; Philippine National Police; local government unit traffic-management group; Armed Forces command officer; professional groups; and representatives of national government agencies concerned will also form part of the group.
The body shall conduct regular forums to report progress of project implementation, along with problems encountered and shall come up with needed solutions.
“It shall also function as the source of advisories and logistics to facilitate implementation of projects, especially in dealing with informal settler families in road right-of-way concerns,” the department said.
The agency, headed by Secretary Mark Villar, added that the formation of such a body is the department’s way “to guarantee project implementation’s strict compliance with standards and to ensure that projects will be serviceable as soon as possible.”