BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-CAR) disclosed that Benguet will be provided with more or less P5 billion worth of road opening projects under the approved P5.24 trillion annual budget for this year.
DPWH-CAR planning division head Engr. Angelita Mabitisan disclosed that one of the major road opening projects in Benguet funded by the agency is the proposed road opening from the vegetable-producing province to Santol, La Union that will be implemented this year following the completion of the bidding process to ascertain the contractor that will prosecute the said project.
She claimed that the completion of the road opening projects will contribute in increasing the number of national roads under the agency’s jurisdiction for their maintenance following the completion of the concreting of the major national road networks in the region.
Projects that will establish more inter-regional, inter-provincial and inter-municipal linkages will definitely enhance inter-connectivity of far flung communities and empower people to be actively involved in economic activities that will provide sustainable sources of livelihood of the people.
Earlier, Benguet Rep. Eric G. Yap assured the people of the province he will make the appropriate representations with the public works department to ensure available funds for important road opening projects that will link remote communities in the province.
Initially, Congressman Yap worked out the inclusion of funds to facilitate the implementation of road opening projects such as the one leading to Tacadang. Kibungan and Kayapa, Bakun which were funded under last year’s budget.
The Benguet lawmaker had been proposing that the road opening projects from Itogon to Nueva Vizcaya, Tuba to San, Manuel Pangasinan, the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Mankayan-Balili Road, among others, be included in the priority projects to be funded under this year’s budget of the agency.
Yap underscored that improving the accessibility of rural areas from urban centers will be instrumental in enticing prospective investors to establish their desired businesses in strategic places in these places which will provide opportunities for people to establish their economic activities and livelihoods that will help in expanding growth and progress.
He pointed out that roads are important in the province because it will provide people and agriculture industry stakeholders easier accessibility from their farms to the market thus cutting costs and increasing their profit.
Yap emphasized that the public works department should first prioritize the implementation of road opening projects leading to remote villages in the province which will be followed by the concreting which will be beneficial in spurring growth and development in the countryside.