Supreme Court E-Library
Information At Your Fingertips

  View printer friendly version

It has been observed that the conduct of public utility agencies, companies or corporations, whether public or private (the "Utility Agency"), in undertaking excavations and/or haphazard restoration works on our national roads have caused their deplorable and dangerous condition. More often than not, the restoration/reconstruction takes place several months later, making the monitoring and commuting public suffer inconveniences.

To ensure that future undertakings on road excavations and its restoration and/or reconstruction works are done properly, the following guidelines are hereby issued for the guidance of everyone concerned:

1. All applications for the issuance of Excavation Permit on National Roads (Annex "A"^*) shall be processed only upon submission/compliance by the Utility Agency or its agent or contractor (collectively, the "Applicant"), of the following:
   

   
   
   1. Sketch Plan/Map showing the exact location of the project, including the name of the road section, type of underground or aerial facility/structure to be installed, and other relative appurtenances;
      
   2. Programs of work (POWs) with corresponding detailed estimates for the cost of excavations, including the cost of restoration, shall be submitted by the Utility Agency, to be approved by the DPWH;
      
   3. Timetable of the proposed work in the form of Bar/Gantt Chart or PERT-CPM Chart showing the duration of excavation and restoration work activities;
      
   4. Typical Section and Specifications, type and total area of pavement to be excavated, type and extent of work to be undertaken, and name and address of contractor (if by contract);
      
   5. Accomplished Terms and Conditions signed by the duly authorized representative of the Applicant;
      
   6. Posting of a surety in the form of a Performance Bond, callable on demand, equivalent to 100% of the full restoration/reconstruction cost of the affected areas, taking into consideration the type and class of pavement structure;
      
   7. Payment of a non-refundable amount to cover the Engineering and Administrative Overhead (the "Supervision Fee") of issuing office since said undertaking is not considered in the programmed budget allocation of the issuing office. The Supervision Fee shall be computed as follows:
         
       
      

      Cost of Restoration	Supervision Fee
      Below P50,000.00	3% of the cost of restoration
      P50,000.00 and above	1.5% of the cost restoration

      
      
   8. Upon receipt of the application and determining that complete requirements have been complied with, the DPWH shall notify the applicant of the schedule of joint field inspection by the Regional and District Representatives together with the contractor, to determine the extent and actual location of the proposed work.

   
   
2. Road sections affected by an excavation shall be temporarily paved or patched with bituminous concrete surface course until it can be fully restored to its original condition.  Final restoration works shall commence immediately once the utilities installed are made operational, i.e., for water pipes, after it has passed hydro testing (pipe leakage  test). Such work shall be done by the utility contractor under the close supervision of DPWH's authorized representatives.
   
   
3. The digging or excavation for the construction and/or installation of public utility facilities shall be done in harmony with the guidelines on tree planting along national roads, to avoid any overlap.
   
   
4. In the event that there will be a road expansion or improvement to be introduced in the national road which will affect existing utility facilities or structures located thereon, such utility facilities or structures shall be removed and/or relocated and the cost for its relocation and removal shall be borne by the Utility Agency concerned. In this case, DPWH waives the payment of all fees, including deposits and bonds with respect to the relocation and removal.
    
   
5. All requests for excavation permits, regardless of amount, will be processed by the concerned District Engineering Office who shall, in turn, recommend the approval thereof to the Regional Director.
   
   
6. The completed restoration works shall be monitored during the warranty period. A corresponding warranty bond equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the actual restoration cost, callable on demand, shall be held in trust for a period of one (1) year from the date of issuance of a Certificate of Completion and can only be released upon the issuance of a Certificate of Acceptance by the issuing Office.
   
   
7. The program of work (POW) and/or detailed estimates for the restoration works shall be prepared by the District Office concerned for approval by the Regional Director.
   
   
8. All Diggings or Excavations, including restorations or reconstruction works shall be done on two (2) shifts (day and night), if practicable, in highly urbanized areas or traffic congested areas for early completion of restoration work.
   
   
9. Excavations for all types of underground utilities along national roads will only be allowed in accordance with the attached DPWH Typical Roadway Section for 20 meters, 30 meters, 40 meters and 60 meters road right of way. Deviation as to the location of structure/utility to be installed, as indicated in the Typical Roadway Section, will only be permitted in special cases. The Project Proponent, through its contractor, shall prepare the plans and detailed drawings of the proposed deviation and submit the same to the DPWH District Office concerned for evaluation/recommendation and subsequent approval of the Regional Director.
   
   
10. DPWH shall notify the Applicant of any reported violation of the conditions of the Digging/Excavation permit, and shall give the latter a reasonable period to rectify such violation. Failure to rectify the violation within the period provided shall warrant the revocation or cancellation of the Permit.

This Order supersedes all previous issuances on digging/excavation, shall take effect immediately, and shall remain enforced until amended, revoked or superseded by another
issuance.


Adopted: 03 May 2011


(SGD.) ROGELIO L. SINGSON
Secretary

---

^* Text Available at Office of the National Administrative Register, U.P. Law Complex, Diliman, Quezon City.