By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is making headway in improving local access roads which have significant impacts, particularly in agriculture and trade.
According to DPWH Director Alex Bote, improving local roads is part of the government’s thrust to build resilient and sustainable communities.
“We are into the improvement of local access roads na may significant impact po sa ating agriculture, trade, at industries. May mga convergence program po tayo rito sa ibang line agencies of the government,” Bote said in a news forum in Quezon City Saturday.
“DPWH will continue to implement various programs that will make communities resilient and sustainable,” he added.
The DPWH is one of the government line agencies leading the implementation of some infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) of the administration under the “Build, Better, More.”
Bote said the DPWH is currently leading at least 30 flagship projects from the list of priority projects, which encompasses various sectors such as physical connectivity, water resources, agriculture, health, digital connectivity, power and energy, and education.
Flood mitigation
The DPWH also said flood mitigation should be a concerted effort between the government and the public.
The public, according to Bote, can help reduce the risk of flooding through proper waste management and disposal.
“We do need a combination of all efforts, not only from the government side but also doon sa mga kasamahan natin, kapwa ka-masa natin, na be careful lang po sa pagma-manage ng mga waste materials natin,” Bote said.
Bote explained that while flood control structures are capable of handling a specific volume of water based on the engineering design, their efficiency diminishes because of waste materials clogging the systems.
Meanwhile, three more packages of the multi-billion-peso Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge project, which will connect the provinces of Bataan in Central Luzon and Cavite in the Southern Tagalog Region, are set to be bid out this month or in December. (With report from Ferdinand Patinio)