Iloilo City government fires back at DPWH executive

ILOILO CITY — The city government here has accused the leadership of the Iloilo City District Engineering Office (Icdeo) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of deflecting the core issues surrounding its failure to secure required local permits for its infrastructure projects.

Icdeo Officer in Charge (OIC) Engr. Roy Pacanan recently refused to receive a cease and desist order from the city government regarding its drainage and road excavation project in Barangay San Pedro, Jaro.

Pacanan said his office did not receive the letter because as it was not addressed to the Icdeo OIC but rather to DPWH-6 regional director Sonny Boy Oropel.

Assistant City Legal Officer GV Eutiquio Cunada, in a letter to Pacanan on April 24, clarified that while the order was addressed to Oropel, it was also placed under the "Kind Attention" of Pacanan — a valid and recognized method of directing correspondence under DPWH's own Department Order No. 77, s. 2014.

"The order was primarily addressed to the regional director to show utmost respect to the head of the agency in the region," the letter read.

Cunada also dismissed the engineer's claim that it created "unnecessary administrative bottlenecks" by communicating letters to the regional office.

He said that the city has no authority over how the national agency processes its internal communications, and therefore, such arguments were irrelevant to the substantive issue of permit non-compliance.

Pacanan also cited his status as persona non grata by the city government as a factor affecting operations.

However, Cunada refuted this, pointing that the declaration does not affect Icdeo's failure to secure the mandatory permits in its projects.

"It gives us the impression that the immaterial and irrelevant arguments are crafted to sanitize the agency's unfortunate circumstance," he added.

The city legal office further accused Icdeo of attempting to "sanitize the agency's unfortunate circumstance" by bringing up unrelated issues.

Cunada asserted that Icdeo's failure to secure a barangay permit clearly violates Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government Code, which require national agencies to coordinate with local government units for projects implemented in their jurisdiction.

"It is our continuing submission that the people of Iloilo City deserve clarity," Cunada added.