By LITO RULONA Correspondent VICE Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy yesterday said he has tasked three city councilors to see Barangay 33 chairman Conrad Lim in an effort to talk him into giving way to a coastal road project of the public works department. Uy said he tasked councilors Zaldy Ocon, Dometillo Acenas Jr. and Yan Lam Lim, president of the city’s Liga ng mga Barangay, to help officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) negotiate with the Barangay 33 chairman so that the coastal road project could be completed. The three city council members were given the task after Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya proposed that the city council stepped in so as to speed up the construction project in Lapasan. Nacaya said Lim’s reclamation area has become a major setback and delayed the completion of the much-needed DPWH road project. Nacaya said the city could not longer afford to allow the project to be delayed for another year. “Klarohon nato kini tungod kay dugang mga tuig na pud kini nga kalangan,” he said. The DPWH’s project engineer, Leowald Pecore, said the Department is looking into expropriations, pointing out that the national government still has a budget for this. “We are hoping to connect this area to Corrales Extension by 2017,” said Pecore. Pecore said the Lim reclamation area and five other road right-of-way conflicts can be covered by DPWH’s remaining budget for the project. He said the DPWH still has P300 million for the road project. He said there were several attempts to talk to Lim since 2012 but the barangay chairman cum businessman was firm in his position. In 2012, he said, former DPWH legal officer Ernest Lorea personally talked to Lim. He quoted Lim as telling Lorea: “Magpasaka lang kamo og sumbong kay atubangon ta kamo.” “After receiving such reply from Lim, wala na namo trabaho-a ang ilang area, and focused on other areas instead. Nagtuo kami nga sa kadugay sa panahon mo-give in ra siya pero wala man,” Pecore said. He said that Lim started the reclamation project in 2008, the same year the DPWH conducted a survey for the road project. Pecore said the DPWH did not communicate with Lim at that time to inform him that the area he was developing at that time would be used for the coastal road project. “There was a conflict with barangay officials in Lapasan before Lim reclaimed the area. One of the requirements was the recommendation of the community but the [barangay council] was  bypassed,” he said.