DPWH stops road repairs ahead of bigger program
PILI, Camarines Sur—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has suspended ongoing repair works on the Maharlika Highway segment covering the provinces of Quezon and Camarines Sur.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said the work was suspended on the national highway, which stretches across the country’s three major islands, as they prepare a more comprehensive and effective plan as directed by President Marcos.
“So we will consolidate the funding, and then we will plan it well, including the bid out of the projects. We want big contractors to participate. Or even open it to foreign contractors, even if it’s a locally funded project. I think if we are going to fix Maharlika, this should be the way to do it,” Dizon said.
The DPWH chief said “the best way to approach this is to plan it well, with the help of Japanese consultants.”
“The President has really prioritized a full rehabilitation of Maharlika and Andaya highways. We talked about it last week, and he said, we have to fix Maharlika and we have to fix it the right way,” he said.
Dizon said that fixing the damaged segments of the road network covering the two provinces can be done over two years.
“We are very confident that we can fix this within the next year and a half to two years at the most. And really fix it the right way,” he said.
“This will be the first major rehabilitation of the Maharlika Highway network, which you all know now (is) the backbone of the entire country, not just of Bicol and not just of Quezon, the entire country, stretching from Aparri all the way to Mindanao—the road which our people and goods traverse.”
On Friday, Dizon led the inspection of the highway’s segments in Quezon, starting from the Lopez Viaduct in Lopez town through Calauag to Tagkawayan.
Three areas in Camarines Sur were also inspected—Barangay Cabasag in Del Gallego and Barangay Cabutan and Barangay Tapi, both in Lupi town.
Visayas island
Dizon also announced plans to inspect Visayas next.
“We will do a second trip. We will start in Albay, and we will go to Sorsogon. We will take the (roll-on/roll-off ferry) from Matnog to Allen, and we will traverse the entire length of Maharlika in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) from Samar all the way down to Southern Leyte,” he said.
“And after that, we will proceed to Mindanao area, starting in Surigao, all the way to Southern Mindanao.”
Friday’s inspection ended in Naga City, where Dizon was met by local officials led by Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, who thanked Marcos for prioritizing the rehabilitation of Maharlika Highway.
“We are very, very grateful to the President, sincerely, wholeheartedly. For the first time, the highway was given the much-needed attention. For the first time, the Secretary of the DPWH was able to experience the difficulties being experienced by Bicolanos every day, every hour, but more than that, the good news is funds [are] being allocated, and we are very thankful for that,” he said.
