ISOLATED. Officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao brave the strong river current to bring aid Sunday (October 30, 2022) to Barangay Matuber, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. Barangay Matuber has been isolated due to a damaged bridge and road network following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng. (BARMM photo)
MANILA - Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday asked owners of barges and tugboats to assist local government units to ferry vehicles and individuals who lost bridge access following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.
In a statement, Marcos urged Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago to seek the help of barge and tugboat owners and operators who could help LGUS with the crossing in areas that have recently lost access.
Marcos made the call after sending a tugboat for residents crossing the damaged bridge connecting San Juan, Batangas, and Sariaya, and Candelaria in Quezon.
The senator said barge and tugboat owners in the provinces of Antique, Maguindanao, Cotabato, Isabela, and Zamboanga City can also help locals and LGUs whose bridges have been destroyed.
She said this could be one of the best possible options both the government and private sector could do while the Department of Public Works and Highways undertakes numerous bridge and road assessments and repairs.
“We enjoin barge and tugboat operators to lend their equipment to the PPA and LGUs whose bridges have been destroyed in the recent spate of calamities including Antique. Zamboanga and Cotabato,” Marcos said.
"Magtulungan tayong lahat sa panahong ito, para sa ating mga kapwa Pilipino (Let us all help each other this time for our fellow Filipinos)," she added.
Meanwhile, Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. asked DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to update the Senate committee on public works, which the former chairs, about the situation of the Bantilan Bridge linking Sariaya in Quezon and San Juan in Batangas which was badly damaged by Paeng.
He also asked Bonoan to submit reports detailing the condition of the Paliwan Bridge connecting the Antique towns of Laua-an and Bugasong; the Nituan Bridge in Parang, Maguindanao, and Romulo Bridge in Bayambang, Pangasinan.
Revilla believed repairs should be immediately done as they are vital to the flow of people and goods in those areas.
"Since time is of the essence, please submit a report to this Committee on the total damage sustained by public infrastructures, including dikes, revetments, and other flood control structures, detailing the required funds for their immediate reconstruction with a 'timetable' as to when the repairs will be completed," Revilla said in his letter to Bonoan.
Revilla assured the agency that necessary funds will be included in DPWH’s 2023 budget for bridge and road repairs. (PNA)
