Continuous road maintenance yields positive results in Bicol Region

By Lily O. Ramos

MANILA, Jan. 24 (PNA)--Continuous road and highway repair maintenance activities made possible by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have impacted positive results in Region V or Bicol Region, located at the Southeastern end of Luzon.

Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions in the Philippines, composed of six provinces namely Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon.

Good road condition, particularly the Daang Maharlika Highway which is a part of a 3,500-kilometer network of roads, bridges and ferry services connecting the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao, is expected to further boost trade, commerce and tourism in Bicol.

Bicol Region is famous for its agricultural products like coconuts, rice, abaca, maize and palay.

Its main cities like Legaspi, Albay and Naga are known for manufacturing services, while a large area a little farther is engaged in commercial fishing.

It abounds with beautiful beaches and deep waters for scuba diving, surfing, hundreds of years of galleon wrecks and whale/shark spotting.

The occasionally active but still considered the most perfect coned volcano in the world, Mayon Volcano, is one of the area's biggest attractions.

Because Daang Maharlika Highway is the most utilized road in the country, public safety and comfort remain very vital.

This is the reason routine and periodic road maintenance works are carried out involving sealing bituminous pavement, asphalt patching, cleaning of culverts and vegetation control, according to DPWH Region V director Orlando Roces.

Earlier, ,Undersecretary Rafael C. Yabut who is in-charge of the Bicol Region operations instructed Roces to ensure that the crew, including heavy equipment and dump trucks are on standby daily at highway roadsides during calamities such as landslides and soil erosion.

The alert working crew should also ensure that no potholes would remain unpatched to prevent road closure in national and secondary roads.

"Our prime concern is accident-free journey and blossoming economic progress for Bicol despite its being often hit with yearly typhoons," said Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane who accompanied President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when she inaugurated six bridges in Mindoro Occidental Friday. (PNA)