Sagada road ‘clearing’ pushed to make it safer

SAGADA, Mountain Province – Local officials here were urged to make the Dantay-Sagada national road free from obstruction to make it more tourist-friendly and safe to pedestrians.

Cecil Lucio of the Department of Public Works and Highways-Cordillera Administrative Region told Mayor Eduard T. Latawan this after road inspection Sept. 3 to evaluate compliance to the DPWH’s Gender and Development (GAD) program.

 “Assessment of said road line includes rating of items under DPWH responsibility which include Pedestrian Areas along with other six factors to determine the road line’s compliance to GAD requirements,” Lucio said.

 Pedestrian areas are classified as safe lanes for walking with visible signs and markings free from obstruction.

During the assessment, Lucio said the national road section within the Poblacion should not be used as parking area or for any private gain for the road to serve its purpose.

 “Since the Dantay-Sagada Road has been converted to a national road, we hope that the local government unit of Sagada would comply with existing laws, rules and regulations of the government on road-right-of-way,” Lucio said.

“Utilizing national roads as parking areas is clear violation of Presidential Decree No. 17 Section 23 of the Revised Highway Act of the Philippines”.

 Meanwhile, OIC-District Engineer John Marquez said “the district engineering office will not hesitate to use the power of the law to get rid of RROW violators not only in Sagada but all national roads.