Three days before he reports to the Filipino people, lays out his policy agenda, and suggests priority legislation with his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued to deliver services that will improve the Filipino people’s quality of life with the completion by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) a total of 69.08- kilometer of road network including 11 bridges in Zamboanga Peninsula under the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP).
In a ceremony at the Alicia Gymnasium, Zamboanga Sibugay Province, Marcos with DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr., Zamboanga Sibugay Governor Dulce Ann Hofer, and Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Philippine Country Office Director Pavit Ramachandran led the inauguration of three core road projects financed jointly by the Government of the Philippines (GOP) and ADB loan to improve roads and bridges which will be an important driving force for poverty reduction and catalyst for inclusive socio-economic development in Western Mindanao.
Implemented by the DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) – Roads Management Cluster II (Multilateral), the completed core road projects are the 24.03-kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road and 29.70-kilometer Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga Road in Zamboanga Sibugay, and 15.35-kilometer Tampilisan-Sandayong Road in Zamboanga del Norte.
Among the attendees at the ceremonial inauguration are DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain; Undersecretaries Eugenio Pipo Jr. and Carlos Mutuc; OIC Assistant Secretary Rey Peter Gille; Zamboanga Sibugay 1st District Representative Wilter Palma; Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay Mayor Alvie Musa, Al-Hadj; UPMO-Roads Management Cluster II Project Director Sharif Madsmo Hasim; DPWH Regional Office IX Director Cayamombao Dia; Stakeholders Relations Service Director Randy Del Rosario; ADB Senior Project Officer Ruby Alvarez; and other public works and local officials.
Marcos said that improved physical connectivity will always be a vital facet of the nation’s development efforts, as outlined in his administration’s Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.
“Let us build upon this achievement as we continue the unending work of building structures that will bring a better life and an invigorating future for all our fellow Filipinos.”
“So, let us build upon this achievement as we continue the unending work of building structures that will bring a better life and an invigorating future for all our fellow Filipinos,” the President added.
In his project briefing, Bonoan said that the improvement of the road network in Western Mindanao will support the economic growth and development by reducing travel time, providing safe and efficient travel, improving peace and order situation, and providing more livelihood opportunities to the locals.
“Indeed, the President’s program to accelerate poverty reduction, establish livable and sustainable communities, and promote agriculture and ensure food security is now turning into reality in Zamboanga Peninsula through the collective efforts, collaborations, and a shared commitment to progress under Bagong Pilipinas,” the public works chief added.
“The completion of vital roads is a clear reflection of the collaborative efforts between the national and local governments in advancing a shared vision of a more prosperous and sustainable future for all.”
Hofer, on the other hand, said that the completion of vital roads is a clear reflection of the collaborative efforts between the national and local governments in advancing a shared vision of a more prosperous and sustainable future for all.
The Alicia-Malangas Road was constructed to reduce travel time between Zamboanga Sibugay towns of Alicia and Malangas from two hours to less than 30 minutes and benefit around 3,000 to 5,000 travelers per day.
Costing ₱1.422 Billion, the project also covers the construction of eight bridges with total length of 302.52 meters namely Lipacan, Logpond, Bella, Lapirawan, Tigabon, Ilisan, Payag and Sinusayan.
The ₱1.086 Billion Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga Road Project involves the concrete paving of national tertiary road made up of gravel on the existing alignment traversing the 13.60-kilometer section of mainland municipality of Alicia leading to a ferry operation at Guicam Channel to connect Barangay Guicam, Alicia to Barangay Hula-Hula, Mabuhay in Olutanga Island with its also newly-paved road of 16.10-kilometer passing towns of Mabuhay, Talusan and Olutanga.
The road is seen to benefit 3,000 to 5,000 motorists daily by cutting the travel time between mainland Alicia and Olutanga Island from three hours to less than 45 minutes.
Costing ₱658.186 Million, the Tampilisan-Sandayong Road Project covers the upgrading of existing combined barangay/municipal roads generally made up of gravel with three to four-meter width to standard specifications of a secondary national road.
The project also involves the construction of three bridges namely New Dapitan, Situbo 1, and Situbo 2.
Tampilisan-Sandayong Road provided a direct link between the cities of Dipolog and Pagadian by-passing Ipil which is the capital town of Zamboanga Sibugay. Its completion reduced the travel time between Tampilisan and Sandayong from two hours to less than 25 minutes, benefitting around 500 to 1,000 travelers per day.
The IGCMRSP is funded through a ₱25.26 Billion loan from ADB and P6.117 Billion from the Government of the Philippines.
The IGCMRSP involves the construction or improvement of 151.60 kilometers of roads and 34 bridges with a total length of 3,374.87 linear meters in Zamboanga Peninsula and Tawi-Tawi.
The project is divided into three core projects, five non-core projects, and three bridge projects.
Ongoing non-core projects are the 1.2-kilometer Guicam Bridge, 24.5-kilometer R.T. Lim-Siocon Road with eight bridges, 33.05-kilometer Curuan-Sibuco Road with two bridges, 17.9-kilometer Siay-Gapol Road with two bridges, and 7.3-kilometer Gutalac-Baliguian Road with seven bridges.
Bridge construction projects in Tawi-Tawi Province are the Nalil-Sikkiat Bridge, Tongsinah-Paniongan Bridge, and Malassa-Lupa Pula Bridge.
Once fully completed, the IGCMRSP will increase the capacity of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) road network through improved physical connectivity in the region to support economic growth and improve peace and order situation in Mindanao.
