P1.5B set to repair Benguet roads; boost veggie industry

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The rehabilitation and upgrading of national roads and secondary arterial roads inter-connecting vegetable-producing towns to the vegetable trading post will greatly help thousands of vegetable farmers reduce their cost of transporting their crops and become competitive once the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) will be implemented next year, Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan said here recently.

Cosalan, who is the chairman of the House committee on public works, said for this year, Benguet stands to receive a total of P1.52 billion purposely to complete the rehabilitation and upgrading of national roads and roads leading to tourism sites from unpaved to concrete pavements for the benefit of the local residents and visitors as well as the vegetable producers.

“It will be safe to conclude that around 90 percent of the national and secondary arterial roads in the different parts of the province will be concreted by next year and by the end of the term of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, all national roads in the province shall have been fully concreted,” Cosalan stressed.

Of the 1.52 billion infrastructure funds for Benguet this year, the lawmaker said P1.15 billion has been earmarked by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)for the continuation of concreting and widening projects along several national and secondary arterial roads while P370 million will be used up for the rehabilitation and upgrading of three roads leading to tourism sites in the different parts of the province.

Because of bad roads from the vegetable farms to the markets, Cosalan claimed vegetable farmers usually entail high cost of transporting their crops to the trading post thereby contributing in the high production cost that frequently results to high buying prices of locally produced crops.

“Our vegetable farmers will be the primary beneficiaries of the huge infrastructure funds being plowed back by the national government to the different parts of the archipelago, thus, better roads will translate to lower production cost of their agricultural crops,” Cosalan said.

According to him, the P1.15 billion will be utilized to continue the concreting and upgrading of portions of the 105-kilometer Acop-Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun road, Gorel-Bokod-Kabayan-Abatan road, Baguio-Asin-Nangalisan-San Pascua road and the Baguio-Mount Sto. Tomas road, Shilan-Beckel road, while the P370 million tourism road funds will be used to rehabilitate the Tawang-Lubas-Ambiong-Rimando road and two major roads leading to the famous Timbak and other mummy caves in Kabayan town.

He said rehabilitation and upgrading of various road networks in the province will allow vegetable farmers to have alternate road access, especially during the rainy months where some portions of the roads are closed to vehicular traffic due to landslides, allowing the uninterrupted supply of agricultural crops and ensuring stable prices for the Metro Manila and other lowland markets.

With improved road condition leading to tourist destinations in the province, Cosalan cited the expected significant increase in the volume of foreign and domestic tourists wanting to visit their desired destinations, especially adventurers wanting to see the scenic spots in the remote areas like in the towns of Kabayan, Bokod, Bakun. Kibungan and Kapangan.

Despite the scrapping of the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for lawmakers, Cosalan said their role now is to guide the implementing agencies on the prioritization of the various infrastructure projects based on the priority listings given to them by the municipal and provincial governments within their jurisdiction.

Benguet produces around 80 percent of the country’s supply of semi-temperate vegetables but bad roads usually translate to prevailing high buying prices and intermittent supply, especially during the rainy season. -- Dexter A. See