Friday, October 03, 2008 Antalan: Roads to somewhere By Roger P. Antalan Dateline IGaCoS
"ALL roads lead to Rome" was the famous old saying during the glorious days of the Roman Empire. In modern times, roads are still a sure sign of progress, bringing the benefits of civilization, travel and commerce to distant places.
In developing countries like ours, roads connecting the barangays to the poblacion are very greatly appreciated by the rural residents. When IGaCoS became a city in 1998, road building was a priority and was certified urgent by the new city. Today, all the 46 barangays are reachable by a network of roads.
During the last nine years, from 1998 to 2007, there were two tranches of loans made through the Landbank of the Philippines for the opening of new roads. The first loan amount was P63 million and the second was P43 million. As of last month, October 2008, all these loans have been fully paid by the City Government.
The heavy equipment acquired by the LGU included the following: 2 bulldozers (a D6 and a D8), 2 graders, 2 loaders, 2 roller compactors and 4 six -wheeler dump trucks.
As of May 2008, the City Engineering Office proudly reported the following achievements: Paved and concrete city roads- 29.883 kilometers; unpaved graveled city and barangay roads -- 403.557 kilometers.
Then there's the signature project, among many other projects, of the First Congressional District of Davao del Norte, started by the former congressman Antonio Floirendo Jr. This is the 27-kilometer trunk road from Babak District to Kaputian District. There are still a few kilometers left for concreting on the Kaputian portion. It will be finished soon under the present congressman Anton Lagdameo. Since this is a national road, the construction is supervised by the DPWH. Perhaps this is the shortest national road in the country.
Concreting of roads is really expensive in IGaCoS. Sand and gravel must come from the mainland. The transportation cost jack up the price. It is estimated that a one-kilometer concrete road cost from P12 million to P14 million, depending on the rough terrain. Normally, in other places, it's only P8 million per kilometer.
Worth mentioning is the contribution of the Department of Agriculture (DA) through it Food Security Program popularly known as the Farm-to-Market roads. This is managed by the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP). Since 2003, P10,757,750 have been appropriated for out-of-the way roads in nine different barangays. About 6,377 farmer families have been benefited. They can now transport their produce to the market.
The much-awaited circumferential road is already approved in Congress waiting for confirmation by the Senate. It is going to be a national road project since the local LGU cannot afford such a big project. It is estimated to be 164 kilometers long. The island city is a tourism destination and concreting of the coastal road will surely enhance its attraction.
It takes time and lots of funding to build roads in the rural areas. But the government must strive to do its best to provide accessibility, mobility, easy transport of products and goods, and quick delivery of services. What is important is that the roads lead to somewhere, to the barangays.
The opening of new roads leads to another important development: rural electrification. It is now easier to connect the barangays with electricity. As of today, all the 46 barangays have electric power connections.
The other welcome development is the coming in the island of bus services. The Island City Express Bus Company has operated for three years now. It has a fleet of 25 busses. A lot of commuters take only one ride to and from Davao City.
Two years ago, all the 46 barangays were given one multicab each by the LGU. This is a big help to the barangays for peace and order patrols and for hospitalization emergencies.
There are still a lot of problems in building a road network of the island city. Some landowners still refuse to allow needed roads through their properties.
Unpaved and graveled roads are often eroded due to constant rain and flash floods. Cost of fuel and spare parts for the heavy equipments have skyrocketed. Road maintenance is really a continuing concern.
Anyway, there are always the ubiquitous motorcycles, both for private use and for hire, the so-called habal-habal. The rough estimate is 20 thousand in the island. The motorcycles can bring the passengers up to their doorsteps.
The constructed roads, however, have been a big blessing to the people of Samal. In the past, Samal used to be described as "so near yet so far". Today, with all the road openings, "wala nay layo sa Samal." Moving around the island is now easy.
