MANILA – Newly-appointed Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairman Emmanuel Piñol said the agency would prioritize farm-to-market road projects before setting its sights on bigger infrastructure developments.
“(First, we need) basic infrastructure, which will be the farm-to-market-roads. Matagal ko na hinihiling sa budget planners na unahin ang access roads mula sa production areas to the market,” Piñol said during a taped interview at the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Virtual TV at the Villamor Air Base golf course Friday.
Piñol, who was formerly Agriculture secretary, said he would be efficient but practical, addressing the more urgent needs of the people of Mindanao, especially the farmers.
“There is a 12,000-km. backlog all over the country in farm-to-market roads connectivity. They were saying, kailangan dahan-dahanin. Ang hindi nila nakikita ay marami ang nawawalang income dahil dito at ang mga farmers ang pinaka-apektado,” he added.
In a separate report, MinDA’s Mindanao Development Corridors Joint Planning and Programming (MinDC-JPP) Project Development Division head Joan Barrera said that as of November 2018, P39 billion had been allocated to complete 32 road projects, six bridges, and four flood control facilities.
These projects are inter-regional road projects that connect two regions, from Caraga to Soccsksargen, which are targeted to be completed by 2022.
The road project has a total length of 1,267 km. and 437 km. have been completed.
Meanwhile, the bridge project is 118.5 km. long but none has been built so far, while 6,519 km. of the flood control projects have been constructed.
The Cotabato-Pagadian-Zamboanga del Sur roads and Zamboanga del Sur coastal roads traverse a 172-kilometer stretch, which covers eight municipalities were inspected for this project.
Piñol reiterated that as the Mindanao Railway project is on the way, many things need to be considered before pushing through with this big project.
“(Ang) Mindanao Railway project ay mag-uumpisa na. But I issued a fair warning. Magandang pangarap, pero meron ba tayong ikaka-cascade. Do we have the goods?” he said.
“Before we dream of anything big, let us go down to the basics,” he added.
The P82.9 billion modern dual track, electricity-run project will cover 1,550 km. of the first phase of the Mindanao Railway, which would have eight stations: Tagum; Carmen; Panabo; Mudiang in Bunawan, Davao City; Davao Terminal; Toril; Sta. Cruz; and Digos. (PNA)
