NOTE: THIS PRESS RELEASE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.

The brand new fleet of heavy equipment acquired by the previous provincial administration hit a snag following two units of excavators bogged down?

Hydraulic wheel type excavator (assigned body BHW 105) with engine serial number 82391145 and chassis number 220109 and BHW106 with engine serial number 82393347 and chassis number 220108 have been placed under repair and needing new spare parts.

The first one broke down on October 6, 2022 in barangay Dorol, Balilihan, Bohol after its hydraulic main pump was damaged, according to the automotive maintenance report signed by mechanic Engr. Jerald Gray Palaca and reviewed by ARM head Engr. Eleuterio H. Rabuya, Jr. of the provincial motor pool.

The action taken is to replace the said hydraulic pump from supplier Avantrac that may take about a month to repair from December 13, 2022.

The said equipment is still covered by warranty, the report said.

The second excavator, model Advance 150 WC, conked out in barangay Alegria, Catigbian, Bohol on December 2, 2022.

The report said that Provincial Motor Pool Office (PMPO) has already requested “for the dealer Avantrac mechanic to perform trouble shooting.”

The said equipment are part of the new fleet of equipment to the tune of over P200 million procured through a bank loan.

The equipment include one unit bulldozer, five units road grader, six units road roller, two units crawler/link type excavators and 16 dump trucks all are said to be made in China, PMPO said.

Back hoe operator (name withheld) said that he cannot yet pinpoint the causes of the breakdown since it is still within the supplier’s mechanic obligation to troubleshoot.

He opined that there’s a difference between the established supplier, like the Caterpillar, Volvo, and others and those (like the aforesaid equipment) made in China. (rvo)