ALL NATIONAL roads and bridges thwacked by the typhoon “Nina” are now passable to all types of vehicles, which would allow thousands of travellers to and from the provinces to reach their destination this coming new year, the Department of Public Works and Highways said on Friday.
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said all national roads and bridges clobbered by “Nina,” especially in the Bicol region, were now cleared of silt and debris.
In other developments:
• The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has deployed 30 units of chainsaw to help speed up the clearing operations in areas devastated by Nina on Christmas Day.
“This is to assist our local government units and the Department of Public Works and Highways in the clearing operations and in harnessing fallen trees cluttering in roads, which affected the delivery of relief assistance to affected communities,” said DENR Undersecretary for Field Operations Isabelo Montejo.
• The bypass road around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that will connect the NAIA Expressway and Skyway is now open to traffic which would cut travel time by as much as 40 percent from Naia terminal 1 to Cavitex, Macapagal Boulevard and in Baclaran, the DPWH said.
Villar said the opening of Circulo Del Mundo Bypass road this Friday would also ease traffic congestion in the area as thousands of Filpino balikbayans and visitors were expected to arrive in the country to celebrate New Year’s Day here.
“Circulo Del Mundo bypass road is a 125-lineal meter bypass road which will further reduce traffic congestion around the vicinity of Naia Terminal 3. It is now open to the public,” Villar said.
“At the first advisory of PAGASA that Typhoon Nina had entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the Regional and District Engineering Offices already activated the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Team or the Incident Command System,” Villar said.
“Prior to the landfall—as early as Dec. 21, we had already prepositioned all available or operational equipment with operator including designated inspectors to the landslide prone areas,” he added.
Villar said the Department has established a priority category of damage which involves the immediate rehabilitation of collapsed bridges, cut road sections, breached seawalls and dikes to quickly restore mobility and ensure safety of the affected areas.
The department also rushed the repair works such as patching potholes, resurfacing of washed out roads and slightly destroyed flood control structure.
He said the DPWH had conducted round-the-clock clearing operations on national roads, highways and bridges affected by Nina since Dec. 25.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III directed all regional offices in areas affected by typhoon Nina to fast-track the provision of emergency employment and other assistance to displaced workers.
“The DOLE regional directors of the affected regions are under instruction to fast-track the profiling of displaced and affected workers so that we can implement the DOLE’s emergency employment program and other interventions, including livelihood,” Bello said in a press statement.
He also said profiling of affected workers was a standard operating procedure after each calamity, in coordination with the local government units and the Public Employment Service Offices in the region.
“The emergency employment program is to be funded from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers, or Tupad, the Dole’s support program which provides short-term and immediate employment for victims of natural calamities,” he said.
While some of the areas are still flooded and without electricity, Bello directed all Regional Directors to immediately provide the necessary assistance to the displaced workers by giving them income and enlist them for the rehabilitation, clearing and cleaning of their affected communities.
According to an initial report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, around 300,000 persons were affected by the super typhoon.
Nina battered the Bicol region and parts of Southern Tagalog and Samar Island, leaving six people dead and a trail of destruction in its wake.
It has been described as the strongest typhoon to strike the Bicol region in 10 years.
According to Montejo, the DENR regional directors in affected areas had been ordered to coordinate with the LGUs to facilitate the deployment of chainsaws, earlier confiscated by the DENR for lack of permit or registration.
“We are also now coordinating with other government agencies and non-government organization partners as we try to pull out all other resources of the department to facilitate other assistance we can provide,” Montejo said.
The DENR encouraged making use of the uprooted trees to build temporary shelters for typhoon survivors.
It also promised to provide assistance to affected DENR employees.
Tall and big trees, including coconut, can be used to repair damaged buildings, houses and other structures.
Meanwhile, the DENR also directed the regional offices in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas to conduct damage assessment in planting sites under the National Greening Program for possible rehabilitation and replanting efforts.
The Circulo Del Mundo bypass road is expected to complement the Naia Expressway Christmas Lane and the existing Naia expressway road network, which already connected Macapagal Boulevard and Pagcor Entertainment City to Naia Terminals 1, 2, and 3, Skyway and Cavitex.
“We expect a surge of passengers using our airports during the holiday season. The opening of the Circulo Del Mundo bypass road is expected to reduce traffic to Naia 3 to about 40 percent,” Villar said.
“We have maintained 24/7 operations in the area to meet our project deadline. We will continue to do so until the project is completed,” he added.
The P20.45-billion NAIA Expressway Project is a four-lane, 12.65-kilometer elevated expressway (including ramps) and 2.22-kilometer at-grade road traversing Sales Avenue, Andrews Avenue, Parañaque River, Miaa Road and Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.
When all phases are completed, the Naia Expressway Project is expected to provide easy access to and from NAIA Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 and will interface with the South Luzon Expressway through Sales Interchange, Manila Cavite Toll Expressway and Macapagal Boulevard.
A total 16 off and on ramps are being constructed along strategic locations at Villamor Airbase, Resorts World, Naia Terminal 3, Miaa Road, Imelda Avenue, Cavitex, Seaside Drive and Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.