BAGUIO CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera passed a resolution supporting the conversion of four strategic local roads in Mountain Province to national roads to allow the implementation of projects that will contribute in significantly improving their overall condition.
The RDC-CAR chaired by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan approved the said resolution during its first quarter meeting which was held at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center located within the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone (JHSEZ).
Earlier, Kalinga Rep. and Mountain Province caretaker congressman Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang requested the region’s policy-making body for support for the congressional bills on the conversion of the subject local roads into national roads.
The 4 strategic local roads in Mountain Province being proposed for conversion to national roads are the 34.87-kilometer Sagada-Besao-Quirino, Ilocos Sur road, the 18.55-kilometer Mountain Province-Benguet road via Guinzadan-Mankayan section, the 11.9-kilometer Mabaay-Abatan road and the 20.4-kilometer Mountain Province-Aguinaldo, Ifugao road.
The RDC-CAR stated that the conversion of the 4 strategic local roads will benefit Mountain Province, the neighboring Cordillera provinces, and the province of Ilocos Sur in Region I, by enhancing trade and commerce, agriculture and tourism industry.
The RDC-CAR infrastructure development committee recommended the approval of the resolution during its fourth quarter 2017 meeting.
The SAgada-Besao-Quirino, Ilocos Sur road is a continuation of the Dantay-Sagada national road which starts in Poblacion, Sagada and traverses 10 barangays of Besao, Mountain Province then exits to Quirino in Ilocos Sur.
ON the other hand, the Mountain Province-Benguet road starts at junction Guinzadan Central in Bauko, Mountain Province and traverses 6 barangays then exits in Balili, Mankayan, Benguet along the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes national road. It will also result to the improvement of the Guinzadan-Kagubatan section leading to Mogao Mountain and Gawaan Lake which was previously funded by the tourism road projects of the previous administration.
The Mabaay-Abatan road starts at the junction in Mabaay along Halsema highway, traverses 3 barangays of Bauko, Mountain Province and ends at junction Abatan in Bauko along the Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur national road.
The Mountain Province-Aguinaldo road starts at Poblacion, Natonin along the junction of Talubin-Barlig-Natonin-Paracelis-Calaccad road and ends at barangay Damag in Aguinaldo, Ifugao along the Banaue-Mayoyao-Aguinaldo-Alfonso Lista-Isabela boundary national road.
Mangaoang filed the required bills in the House of Representatives for the conversion of the 4 strategic local roads into national roads to guarantee enhanced inter-regional, inter-provincial and inter-municipal linkages that will contribute in spurring growth and development in the remote villages in the different parts of the province.
Mountain Province is a landlocked province and it is located in the central part of the Cordillera and surrounded by various provinces in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions.
By Dexter A. See
