ILOILO City – Regional director Lea Delfinado of theDepartment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 6 and Iloilo 5th Congressional district representative Raul “Boboy” Tupas led the ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction of the 15-kilometer Maayon (Capiz)-Sara (Iloilo) By-pass Road, Sara Section, on Oct. 10 in Brgy. Malapaya, Sara, Iloilo.
Also present during the groundbreaking ceremony were: District Engineer Flordelis Enriquez and assistant district engineer Renato Cogollo of DPWH, Iloilo 3rd District Engineering Office; Sara mayor Jon Aying with other town officials and chiefs of various barangays in the town.
The project aims to connect the town of Sara in the northern part of Iloilo, with the length of 15 kilometers, to the town of Maayon in the province of Capiz, with the proposed length of 20 kilometers.
Director Delfinado said that the project is another milestone toward the realization of the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration, giving priorities on the construction of road infrastructure to further accelerate the social and economic development of the country.
With the allocation of P240 million, the project is divided into two packages. Package 1 is funded under Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in the amount of P120 million involves construction and concreting of 4.80-kilometer, two-lane, 6.7-meter wide Portland Concrete Cement Pavement (PCCP) road, including slope protection, cross drainage, pavement markings and safety signs. While Package 2, also amounting to P120 million, involves construction and concreting of 4.43-kilometer road, with the same components as Package 1.
“We have also proposed an additional amount of P150 million to be included in our FY 2020 budget for the completion of the whole Sara (Iloilo) stretch of the project, which will include construction and concreting of two to three-kilometer road, with components similar to packages one and two, however, it will include construction of two-lane, 75-meter Pres-Stressed Concrete Girder (PSCG) bridge on bored pile foundation with slope protection and approaches,” Delfinado said.
The road will also provide links to various primary, secondary and tertiary roads in the town of Sara and its neighboring towns, hence, providing more access to various areas in the northern part of Iloilo.
“Aside from providing fast and reliable transport system from the town of Sara in Iloilo to Maayon in Capiz, this concrete road will contribute to vibrant economic activity through and from Iloilo to Capiz,” Delfinado added.
In addition, this road project is very beneficial especially to the people in the communities in the town.
According to Alfonso Planting and Joel Manda, residents of Brgy. Ardemil in Sara, having a road passing through their barangay was just their dreams in the past decades, but now, they will be having a better and safer road not only for transportation but also for the delivery of their products to the town proper.
“Bisan sa damgo waay gid magtupa sa amon huna-huna nga mangin manami man ang kalsada nga amon pagaagyan halin diri sa kabukiran pakadto sa banwa sang Sara. (Even in our dreams, we never thought to have a good road from highlands to the town of Sara),” Manda said.
Meantime, Delfinado said that DPWH remains to be a strong partner in uplifting the lives of the people through efficient and reliable road transportation network.
“We will be constructing more road networks all over the region, which will be beneficial not only for the traveling public but also for help in the transport of goods and services from one place to another that will eventually lead to economic stability of Western Visayas,” she stressed./PN
