DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 July 2026) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the repair of the road at Purok 39, Sitio Marahan, Marilog Proper, which suffered a road slip evening of Friday last week.
This was revealed by Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon during interview with reporters as he inspected the affected area Thursday morning. The interview was posted on the government-controlled Radyo Pilipinas’ Facebook page.
Dizon said the agency is moving for both temporary and more long-term solutions.
He said the agency would be working on slope protection for both sides of the road.
“At the same time gagawa tayo ng mas matagalang solusyon. So yun medyo matagal-tagal yun,” Dizon said.
Dizon said that a more permanent road across Marahan would entail proper design and soil investigation.
He said that at the moment, the focus was on the temporary so that the road could be used as soon as possible.
The DPWH official Facebook page said that the repair aims to address delays in the transport of passengers and goods across the vital artery between Davao and Bukidnon.
Dizon said road works could begin as early as Monday.
A report from Radyo Pilipinas said the repairs would include slope protection from both sides of the road.
Meanwhile, the Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) has cautioned on the use of the Davao-Bukidnon Road-Datu Ladayon-Katipunan-Campo Uno route, as the path can get muddy during heavy rains.
Datu Ladayon and Katipunan are barangays of Arakan, Cotabato Province, while Campo Uno is a sitio of Katipunan.
Drivers of heavy vehicles were advised to look for safer alternate routes, like via Maramag – Carmen – Kabacan – Digos – Davao.
A road slip (also called a landslip or road slump) is a type of landslide that happens on or under a roadway.
According to the DPWH Visual Road Condition Assessment Manual, a road slip occurs when a portion of land, usually under a paved road, erodes and causes the road to collapse.
Heavy rains due to a thunderstorm had caused the slip, the agency said.
Earlier Thursday, MindaNews saw the last house that was precariously perched on top of a cliff by the road already gone, with the road slip apparently widening since the incident last July 17.
Movement in the area was temporarily halted for at least an hour due to soil inspections conducted by the DPWH, as well as Dizon’s visit. (Yas D. Ocampo, with reports from Gregorio C. Bueno, MindaNews)
