A backhoe used as part of the construction of the controversial Tagbuane-Sta. Fe Road in Alburquerque was partly burned possibly out of ire due to the continued neglect of the muddy and unpaved road which cuts across the town, police said.
According to Alburquerque police chief Senior Insp. Gerald Luna, the backhoe was found with burn marks at 4 p.m. on Monday while investigators later discovered a burnt shirt, dried coconut leaves and plastic container beside the heavy equipment.
Luna said that the perpetrator intentionally set part of the backhoe ablaze possibly as warning to prompt the contractor to continue work on the barely passable path, but was not intending to fully burn the equipment.
“Mao nay among anggulo kay ang mga tawo didto kay nasuko na siguro kay di naman maka-agi didto. Bisan motor di maka-agi, lapok kaayo, mao nang sa among imbestigasyon wala g’yuy ingon nga sunogon totally,” said Luna.
The Tagbuane-Sta. Fe Road has earlier drawn flak over social media as it remained unpaved and almost impassable due to mud.
Construction of the road has reportedly been stopped while the backhoe was left parked and unused at the road for several weeks.
According to Luna, it was unlikely that the incident was the handiwork of New People’s Army rebels.
The backhoe’s owner, Bohol Modern Structures Corporation, was not asked for revolutionary tax by the rebel group and did not receive warning prior to the incident, Luna said.
Construction of the Tagbuane-Sta. Fe Road started in 2017 and was supposed to be completed within 190 days but the road remained unfinished.
Last month, the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) clarified that the controversial road is not under their office’s jurisdiction.
According to Engr. Camelo Gasatan of the PEO, the Tagbuane-Sta. Fe Road which cuts across a segment of Alburquerque is a barangay road.
Barangay officials and the local government unit are responsible for overseeing the construction of the road, he said.
Gasatan noted that the PEO oversaw a provincial road project in the area through the Bohol Earthquake Assistance (BEA) fund but it was completed way back in 2016.
The Tagbuene-Sta. Fe Road however branches out from the said provincial road.
“Mao sigurong naka-ingon na sila nga sa province na kay mura man gud nag na-sumpay nga kalsada, pero sa barangay na na siya,” Gasatan added. (A. Doydora)