By Gina Dizon
SAGADA MOUNTAIN PROVINCE – In response to traffic issues here in
this tourist town, a proposed diversion road by the local government
unit to be constructed within the private lot of the Mission
compound faced differing sentiments during a public consultation
held here at the municipal hall August 1,2014.
A common suggestion among participants to resolve heavy traffic
jams along the narrow streets of this tourist town is the need for
parking lots instead of building a diversion road near the basketball
court to the boundaries of the Mission lot along sitios Dekkan,
Sayocsoc to Dagdag and joining the highway.
In said public forum, women leader Soledad Belingon forwarded there
is need for parking spaces further proposing realignment of the
P1.9 million fund sourced from the Cordillera Highland Agricultural
Resource Management Project (CHARMP) for said diversion road to
building of parking lots.
Two proposed areas for parking lots favorable to authorities of the
Church of St Mary the Virgin of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern
Philippines were identified in Tangeb, Dagdag and KenGedeng, Patay
both sites located within the Mission compound.
CSMV Vestry member Peter Tauli further said what is needed are pay
parking facilities referring to the two identified areas where
collections shall serve as income for both barangays and the church.
Sagada mayor Edwardo Latawan however said it is not possible for said
CHARMP funds allocated for a farm to market road to be realigned to
parking lots.
The suggestions came in the light of a decision from the vestry of the
CSMV not to allow the opening of the proposed diversion road within
the Mission compound in response to a letter of Engr Isabelo Abing
of winning bidder Benguet Builders writing his intent to start the
project May this year. Said project, improvement of diversion road
with funds sourced from CHARMP-Department of Agriculture and a local
counterpart was bidded out by the Sagada LGU in December 2013 to be
finished in 51 days.
This tourist town hosts a number of inns and restaurants
accommodating some 30,000 visitors a year and tourist cars
including residents’ vehicles parked along the already narrow road
causing heavy traffic jams and accidents especially during weekends
and tourist peak seasons on holidays. Two children already incurred
accidents along the road in barangay Dagdag this year.
Another issue posed was the bidding out of the project despite the
absence of necessary documents.
EDNP Bishop Brent Alawas in a separate interview said there is no
memorandum of agreement inked between the local government unit
as the implementing agency of said proposed road and the EDNP for the
use of part of the private lot within the Mission compound.
Government policy requires no use of public funds over private
property, however gets cured with agreements between parties such as
usufruct.
Sagada Mayor Eduardo Latawan said he was advised by authorities from
the Department of Agriculture to proceed with the bidding but not to
award said project to the winning bidder pending completion of
documents.
Though Engr Abing of winning bidder Benguet Builders in his
letter to the Vestry of CSMV said the project was already awarded to
his firm and will start implementation by May 21, 2014 to be
finished by June 30 of t4eh same year.
Latawan however said the project was not yet awarded to winning bidder.
Should the project be implemented on said proposed site measuring
nearly one kilometer, Latawan said available funds can only start the
project with no application of cement, though other means can be
sourced out to complete the proposed diversion road until it gets
finished including a P1.6 million from LGU coffers budgeted for 2015.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimates 20 to
25 million pesos per kilometer of road work.
A resident commented the project cost of 1.9 million pesos only opens
the road with no assurance of road completion.
And among the church goers, construction does not come that easy for
the diversion road with a church decision not allowing said road
project following the congregational assembly’s decision to let the
vestry decide on whether to allow or not building of the road
considering differing views of the congregation. CSMV rector Fr
Constancio Naoy noted more of voices of opposition during said
assembly.
Newly elected CSMV senior warden Dave Gulian said reasons for the
CSMV congregation’s opposition hinged on anticipated issues on
congestion, destruction of the Mission compound as an eco-park,
squatting, and problems on waste along and near the building of
proposed road noted during the June 1 congregational consultation.
The past vestry in 2010-13 forwarded their favourable decision to the
building of diversion road noting that it was included as a proposed
project of the church. Though no consultation was done with the
congregation as noted by Wanay Pagadian former Vestry member.
Former vestry member and president of the Episcopal Church Women Jane
Bawing echoed opposition of some women members to said diversion
road, and further forwarded that the master development plan of the
church is currently being drafted inviting the public to input their
recommendations and comments on said plan.
With a divided stand of the congregation and vestry members on
proposed road including differing views noted during said public
consultation made the road budget vulnerable to other proposals
including realignment and reprogramming of the proposed road project
apart from parking lots. Road alternatives were identified inside
the municipality namely Pukan-Demang-Ambasing and the
Suyo-Mabisil-Antadao routes.
Latawan refers to big vehicles entering the town southward from
the direction of the currently implemented DPWH-DOT convergence
tourism road projects to be finished in one to two years time namely
the P135 million second phase of the Madepdeppas Sabangan-Taccong
Sagada route awarded to BMK-Latawan Construction and the P100 million
Balili Bontoc-Suyo Sagada road awarded to RS Sepian Construction .
Currently, heavily visited Sagada can only be traversed from the
century old Dantay -Sagada road and a one lane road from the currently
worked on Balili-Suyo road.
Celia Baldo an immigrant from Manila married to an iSagada native
asked what kind of tourism is being promoted forwarding that
visitors look for pristine and rustic places to relax in avoiding the
usual smog and big infrastructure in heavily polluted cities.
Baldo who is active in the social media noted that tourists who
visited Sagada during the Holy week and residents as well
appreciated the management of smooth traffic with all vehicles
except public utility cars directed to parking lots and Sagada turned
to a walk town.
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