THE buck stops with Globe. Jose Antonio Diomampo of Globe Telecom's Cable Network Projects was man enough to take responsibility over the unrestored or improperly restored excavation too near the concrete pavement of the Bohol Circumferential Road from Duero town through Tagbilaran City and northward all the way to Tubigon town. He promised Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado that Globe will suspend the digging of more trenches until such time that the existing excavations are properly restored. Aumentado welcomes fiber optics for Bohol 's entry into the information technology (IT) highway that augurs well for the establishment of call centers in the province.

However, he stressed, the provincial government needs to balance the situation because while it welcomes the fiber optics cable of Globe, it does not want the road to be destroyed. “It is in very good condition and the Boholanos are very proud of it, and yet your company is posing danger to the concrete pavement because of improper restoration of the excavation,” he told Diomampo. Globe had commissioned Ericsson Network Philippines to undertake its telecommunications expansion program. The work involves the construction of underground ducts and conduits by manual and mechanical trenching for the laying out and installation of fiber optic cables, bridge attachments, handholes and manholes. Ericsson, it was learned, engaged subcontractors like Metallite Builders to do the trenching. However, the latter excavated on the road shoulders too close to the concrete pavement.

This led District Engr. Edilberto Ativo and Engr. Celestino Adlaon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bohol 3rd and 1st Engineering Districts respectively to protest to the diggings. The road, it turned out, has already been turned over to DPWH and as such, is already the department's maintenance concern. BCRIP 2 contractors C.M. Pancho Construction, Inc. and Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. sent representatives “who can decide for the company” – on Aumentado's request – to the meeting. Both representatives confirmed that their companies already held certificates of acceptance of the project from DPWH. Engr. Danilo Pancho, representing President and CEO Gerardo Pancho showed a copy of the latter's letter to Engr. Fradolfton Gepilano Jr., Ericsson's Right-of-Way/Civil Works Supervisor.

The Pancho letter, in response to Gepilano's notification of work and request for consent dated March 25, stated that since the company's one-year defects liability period has already elapsed, it suggested that Ericsson – prior to the implementation of its intended project – coordinate with and secure a written consent directly from DPWH. The certificate of acceptance dated Feb. 26, 2008 , was signed by Project Director Vicente Perez of DPWH-Philippine-Japan Highway Loan (PJHL) Project Office. For his part, S. J. Lee who had earlier declined the invitation to the meeting because Hanjin's responsibility over the project had similarly elapsed, gave the same suggestion. C.M. Pancho had contracted the stretch of BCRIP 2 from Candijay through Valencia towns while Hanjin had contracted Package 1 from Valencia through Tagbilaran City and on to Calape town. The road from Calape to Candijay on the northern “half” of Bohol forms BCRIP 1, a major part of which belongs to DPWH-Bohol 2nd Engineering District under Engr. Gregorio Sayson.

Sayson heaved a sigh of relief on knowing that the Globe project will not dig within his jurisdiction, and expressed elation that it will also benefit his district through better telephone services and internet connectivity anyway. For Ericsson and its subcontractors to properly restore the road shoulders that, Aumentado said, had undergone layer by layer compaction by C.M. Pancho and Hanjin, Diomampo, and the district engineers agreed that they will suspend excavation, hold regular technical discussions and restore the shoulders properly before digging more trenches. Aside from protecting the pavement, proper restoration will also minimize accidents brought about by poorly installed or absent warning devices that are Globe's – and its contractors' responsibility.