BONTOC, Mountain Province—Local officials and residents of this landlocked province thanked Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. for his timely intervention in facilitating the temporary use of some private properties in Sabangan detour route for vehicles while waiting for the full construction of the bridge that spans the Chico river.
The local officials claim that if not for the timely intervention of Gov. Lacwasan in convincing the property owners Wayway de Castro in the Sabangan side and Robert Dacyon in the Bontoc side, the Halsema highway would have remained closed to vehicular traffic.
The temporary bridge was washed away at the height of Super Typhoon “Lawin,” resulting in motorists and commuters suffering from inconvenience.
Passengers from both sides of the river had to transfer by foot, tramline, or balsa, to be able to reach their destinations.
Lacwasan, who was attending some important engagements in Metro Manila, took time out from his hectic schedule and motored to Baguio City to meet with the concerned parties, including representatives of the Mountain Province Engineering District, for the early resolution of the detour road at Nacagang, Tambingan, Sabangan.
He said: “We were alarmed over the situation the Halsema highway remained closed to vehicular traffic for more than a week after Typhoon “Lawin.”
“Our constituents have been suffering from the inconvenience caused by the situation that is why we tried our best to get in touch with the concerned land owners and the engineering officials to discuss how to solve the impasse.”
During their meeting in Baguio, Dacyon and Grace Wayway de Castro said their properties would only be used as a detour road for only 365 days from November 2013 to November 2014 pending the completion of the permanent bridge.
Despite the absence of a formal request from the Public Works department, and only through the pleadings of former project engineers Guisalo and Eminga, they acceded.
Lacwasan said Dacyon and De Castro allowed the use of their lots without expecting any remuneration since it was for public use and, at that time, only for a year.
However, the permanent bridge was never completed in November 2014 until now, while the temporary bridge through the Dacyon and De Castro family was washed away by “Lawin.”
During the meeting, Mountain Province District Engineer Wilbur Likigan confirmed that no remuneration was ever offered or was given to the lot owners since no funds were allotted by the department.
However, Likigan assured the affected land owners that he would try to source out funds to compensate for the use of the private lots.
This was accepted by the concerned land owners paving the way for the re-opening of the detour bridge that normalized travel inside and outside the province.
Lacwasan, chairman of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, thanked Dacyon and de Castro for allowing their lots to accommodate the detour bridge from 2013 up to the present.
He appealed to the people and officials of the province not to criticize the lot owners for initially not allowing their properties to be used for the detour bridge due to unresolved issues.
He said: “What is important now is we were able to work out a win-win solution to the problem that could have resulted in the isolation of some areas of the province.
“We want all parties to be satisfied with our intervention that is why we appeal to our provincemates to start working together for the welfare of the greater majority.”
At present, the Mountain Province Engineering District is working on the detour bridge while motorists have to use the backfilled portion of the Chico river as a temporary route.