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Asin resort owners seek delay of bridge construction

Transport problem to hurt tourism, agriculture

TUBA, Benguet (Jan. 11) — Resort owners and local officials of Nangalisan asked the Benguet provincial government to delay the construction of Irisan Bridge, which leads to Asin Hot Springs, saying it would cause transportation problem and adversely affect the tourism, agriculture and education sectors in the area.

During the weekly Kapihan sa Benguet at the Palm Grove Resort, the local resort owners agreed that the said bridge construction will help boost tourism in the area. However, they stressed that closure of a portion of the road due to the construction from January 23 to April 12, would mean great loss for them.

Greg Loy, one of the resort owners, said the peak season for resorts in Asin is from November to March. “We only have five months to regain our investments; the other seven months, we are already lucky if we break even,” he explained.

In addition, Tuba Councilor Lydia Andawe said the temporary road closure will also affect the agriculture and education sectors of the barangay. She added that the proposed closure falls within the farmers’ harvest time. Aside from the difficulty of transporting their produce, tourists are the primary consumers of their products.

Andawe further said that college students currently enrolled commute everyday from the area to school, thus they will also suffer transport difficulty if the closure pushed through on the said period.

Andawe suggested to the Benguet Engineering District to defer the closure of the road until the end of the Holy Week. She said that by this time tourist arrival will have decreased; the harvest season and school’s second semester are over.

Roger Sinot, another resort owner, reiterated, “We are only asking for a four-month delay because it is the peak season. Anyway the bridge construction was delayed for two years now.”

Unfortunately, Engr. Felix Caluza of the Engineering District said they could not grant the request. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) already issued a Memorandum on Agreement, directing all governors of Cordillera to fast track the completion of all bridges funded by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on or before the first quarter of 2006.

He mentioned that the said bridge and another bridge in Mankayan are under PGMA’s project.

According to Domingo Bay-an, executive assistant to Gov. Borromeo Melchor, the said project was bidded out in 2004 during the term of former Gov. Raul Molintas, but was not finished due to lack of funds. He explained that the provincial government has a P3.7 million counterpart for the project.

Bay-an further said that the project was again delayed due to the 2004 elections and some technical discussion on the source of funding and implementation at the provincial board when the new set of elected officials were appointed.

In a follow-up interview, Bay-an said that the governor did not approve the request due to the mentioned DILG directive. He also explained that the proposed schedule should rather be pursued because there will be more difficulty for passengers to transfer rides during the rainy season. Bay-an also disclosed that the barangay captain of Tadiangan (the area where the bridge is situated), after considering the rainy season, agreed with the closure.

“To solve the transportation problem, the governor’s office will coordinate with the transport group operating in the affected areas. They will discuss the transferring scheme residents will undergo during the closure,” Bay-an said. # Kim Quitasol with reports from Florence Batawang/ UP intern for NORDIS

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