TABUK, Kalinga – Kalinga Representative and Mountain Province “caretaker” Allen Jesse Mangaoang said the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) had released a total of PHP1.9 billion for the rehabilitation of typhoon-damaged areas along the Chico River that traverses both provinces, providing irrigation to farms.
In an interview, Mangaoang told the PNA that Mountain Province received PHP1.2 billion for the repair of the abutment of the area’s major river system that was damaged by typhoon “Lawin” in 2016. The amount is divided between the first and second district offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Mountain Province.
He said PHP700 million was allotted for the damaged areas in the municipalities of Paracelis, Natonin and Barlig. “Due to the damage in the abutment of the river, the farms at the three towns are devastated,” Mangaoang said.
He said the fund for Kalinga is for the repair of the damaged abutment of the Bonog River which unites with Chico River in the upper part of the province. “A big part of the river’s abutment was damaged when typhoon Lawin wrecked havoc in 2016,” Mangaoang said.
The Kalinga province congressman, who was appointed to also represent Mountain Province following the demise of Rep. Maximo Dalog, said the two provinces were considered as among the priority areas of the NDRRMC for rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructures, which affect the livelihood of the people in the two provinces.
The fund, he said, came from the allocation for “Lawin”-related projects.
Meanwhile, Mangaoang also mentioned that a PHP218-million fund was also obtained for the construction of a new bridge to replace the Samoki bridge in Bontoc, Mountain Province which had persistently caused delay in transportation of goods, services and commuters from Mountain Province to Ifugao. (PNA)
