Typhoon destroys P65-M infra, products in Sagada

SAGADA. This  Engan section of a 6 kilometer stretch of the P29.5 million Ato –Engan – Lamagan – Atowanan - Mobo farm to market road remains impassable to traverse the FMR to the town proper. Cuts of the FMR revealed pavements and parapet with no reinforcement steel bars sending the cracked pavements and parapets cascading to gardens burying harvestable corn and veggies and threatening houses and residents below, near and above the road. 

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province --  Typhoon Egay’s strong winds and rains the past week pummeled through this tourist town destroying an estimated  P65 million damage on roads causing landslides, road cuts, agricultural products, irrigation, drainage systems and footpaths,  data from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office bared.  
    MDRRM Officer Eddie Dapliyan said the Sagada-Dantay Road is closed to motorists due to a road cut at Sitio Owasan, Antadao.  
    Motorists coming up to Sagada or going either to Baguio or Manila, are advised to take the alternate road via Balili, Bontoc and Taccong, Sagada.
    Egay destroyed an estimated damage of  P29 million on provincial, municipal and barangay roads causing road cuts in barangays Antadao, Ambasing, Balugan, Nacagang,Tetep-an Sur, Bangaan, Patay and Demang. 
    Here also at sitio Ato, Poblacion Patay,a section at sitio Engan along the 6 kilometer stretch of the P29.5 million Ato –Engan – Lamagan – Atowanan - Mobo farm to market road revealed pavements and parapet with no reinforcement steel bars sending the cracked pavements and parapets cascading to gardens burying harvestable corn and veggies and threatening houses and residents below, near and above the road. 
    The Engan section remains impassable to traverse the FMR to the town proper.  
    An initial 1.3 kilometer Ato-Engan road was financed from the LGU’s P350,000 Bottoms- Up Planning (BuB) fund in 2013 and an additional fund from the already budgeted cost from Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project (CHARMP) in 2014. The Ato-Engan road was completed with slope protection retaining walls and parapet on to road concreting towards Mobo and Atowanan exiting towards the Sagada-Besao road implemented and funded by the Department of Agriculture- Integrated Natural Resource Management Project (DA-INREMP) with counterpart from the LGU in 2019.
Along the Besao-Sagada road, an uprooted pine tree and debris fell above the road blocking the street before it was restored to normal.
    A three-meter concrete pavement here at a barangay road to Demang sank some few meters, the street having a history of sinking. Demang folks immediate hauled soil and backfilled the caved-in pavement making the road passable again.  
    Same with barangay Pide, Balugan  at South Central Sagada where road cut remains  unrestored.  
    Balugan had major landslides below Mt Pakad in Balugan since1936 on to 1975 and again a few years back.  
    Typhoon Egay also sliced non - reinforced concrete pavements along a P4.4 million road to St Mary’s School here at barangay Poblacion and brought down s section of an adjoining access road funded by the LGU in 2019.    
    At Sagada Poblacion,  Egay caused  a major landslide beside the Church of St Mary the Virgin and uprooted century-old trees.
    Farmers from this vegetable, rice and fruit producing town suffered either flooded farms or toppled cucumber plants, corn plants, banana  and  coffee trees, and rice with fruits fallen  down the ground causing a reported estimated damage of some P10.5 million.
    Some P19.5 million estimated damage on community irrigation systems  were noted in barangays Aguid, and  Ankileng; farm to market roads in Patay and Ankileng; destroyed foot paths, drainage systems  and waterworks.
    An estimate damage of P1 million of a public building was reported at Patay Poblacion.