In a bid to avert heavy flooding and traffic obstructions, a Quezon City councilor filed a proposed ordinance imposing stiffer penalties on contractors who leave their debris on construction sites.

Under the proposed ordinance filed by Councilor Dorothy Delarmente, violators of the measure will be fined P5,000 with the possibility of having their business license cancelled.

She said she filed the proposal due to the mounting complaints against private contractors who leave earth mounds, stockpiles, spoils and construction debris on the sites of their finished projects.

With the simultaneous road works undertaken by the city engineering office and other government construction agencies in Quezon City, Delarmente said the soils, rocks, gravel and even worn-out concrete pipes placed on the roads have caused unbearable traffic jams and placed the lives of motorists and pedestrians at risk.

Earlier, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the construction wastes left behind by the contractors find their way in the inlets and drainage systems impeding the smooth flow of rain water.

Baltazar Melgar, chief of the MMDA Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office (FCSMO), said the clogged drainage system causes rain water to flood the streets and other low-lying areas of the metropolis.

Despite the repeated warnings, the Quezon City Engineering Department (QCED) admitted that errant contractors continue to leave their mess on construction sites, causing public inconvenience.

Joselito Cabungcal, chief of the city’s engineering department, welcomed Delarmente’s proposal, saying that it will serve to discipline contractors who insist on leaving their construction sites unclean.

Aside from household garbage and industrial wastes, Cabungcal said the construction spoils like soil and sand have clogged the waterways and inlets causing water to overflow on the roads.

However, a QCED engineer remained unconvinced that the Delarmente proposal, if ever it is signed into a law, will fully convince errant contractors to mend their ways and clean the construction sites.

He stressed that the fine of P5,000 is peanuts compared to the millions of pesos earned by the rich contractors for one project alone, adding that they can circumvent the law on the cancellation of business license since they own several construction firms.

“Yung panukala ni Councilor Delarmente ay kahanga-hanga pero sana kung pinapayagan ng batas na magpataw pa ng mas malaking multa at mahigpit na parusa mas magiging epektibo ang proposal na ito. Walang mangyayari kung ganyan lang ang penalty, tatawanan lang tayo ng mga yan,’’ the government engineer said.

He suggested that dump trucks should immediately pick up the construction debris to provide motorists and pedestrians with wider roadways and sidewalks even during road improvement
works.