DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/7 July) – The district engineering office in Compostela Valley province has proposed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office to undergo a sustainable slope protection project in one of the province’s critical landslide prone areas.
Silvino Cortez Jr., DPWH district engineer, wants a slope protection work for the Tuburan section of the Daang Maharlika in the municipality of Mawab to solve the perennial landslide problem in the highway.
Cortez said they are constantly monitoring this road section, where landslides occur frequently. “This road section is considered among the most critical areas, especially during heavy rains,” he said.
At the onset of heavy downpour, according to Cortez, DPWH maintenance equipment and crew are on alert to provide immediate assistance and to clear obstructions along the national highway’s carriageway.
Cortez’s proposal was a response to the directive of Sinaolan T. Macarambon, DPWH-XI regional director, who recently instructed district engineers in Southern Mindanao to conduct inventories of critical sections prone to landslides.
On the other hand, DPWH announced that it will soon undertake concreting of gravel roads in Davao del Sur.
The project is in line with the government’s program to increase the Philippines’ paved road ratio.
DPWH Undersecretary Rafael Yabut and Assistant Secretary Emil Sadain, in-charge of projects under Official Development Assistance (ODA), have started discussions with the DPWH regional office and project stakeholders on the implementation of concrete paving works along the Malita-Don Marcelino Road under the National Road Improvement Management Program 2.
The more than 30-kilometer road project will traverse the coastal line of Celebes Sea and is a continuing link of the newly completed Jct. Sulop-Malalag-Malita Road, the DPWH said in a press statement.
“This project will improve the transport of goods and services between towns and provinces of Southern Mindanao,” the DPWH added. (Rico Biliran / MindaNews)
