2,600 deployed for road repairs, clearing works in Metro

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is deploying 2,600 members of the Out of School Youth Toward Economic Recovery Program (OYSTER) for road repairs and clearing works to prepare Metro Manila for the rainy season.

“We must learn from our experience just like what happened last year when we were caught by surprise by typhoons ‘Ondoy’ and ‘Pepeng’,” DPWH Secretary Victor Domingo said. “We must be sure that during the rainy season, all national roads must be passable at all times to ensure immediate response to emergency situations.”     The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that after the dry spell, the country should prepare for the possible occurrence of the La Niña phenomenon, which will bring above average rainfall. Last September, tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng caused massive flooding in several parts of Metro Manila, Southern and Central Luzon.

Domingo also ordered regional directors and district engineers to conduct drainage-clearing operations, vegetation control and road sign maintenance works in all national roads nationwide.

DPWH Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) director Enrico Guilas said maintenance crew and heavy equipment had been dispatched to Camp 1 and Camp 6 along Kennon Road to respond to emergency road situations such as the occurrence of landslides or road cuts.

Region 1 director Mariano Alquiza said the repair of Bued Bridge destroyed by typhoon Pepeng will be completed within the month.

Bicol Region director Danilo Manalang said they have completed the drainage clearing operation and pothole patching operation along Daang Maharlika Highway and Rolando Andaya Highway, which serve as the main roads from Bicol to Metro Manila.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines National Capital Region Command (AFP-NCRCOM) said it is closely coordinating with local government units to improve their disaster response capabilities.

“I can say that the level of our preparations is higher than before. The manner of the preparations of the major services and the police is similar to those during the elections,” NCRCOM chief Rear Admiral Feliciano Angue said in an interview. He said these preparations include the holding of seminars on disaster preparedness with local governments and other stakeholders, and the de-clogging of waterways to prevent floods.                                                          He said these preparations are necessary because local executives would be at the forefront of disaster response when calamity strikes.

If local officials, for instance, fail to address traffic jams, the response teams would not be able to penetrate their areas to provide help.

Angue said they are also conducting trainings for non-government organizations that want to help typhoon victims.

He said the National Disaster Coordinating Council of the Office of Civil Defense is also sponsoring similar activities.

He assured the public that in the event of disaster during the typhoon season, there will be enough soldiers to be deployed for disaster response.

“When disaster strikes, all soldiers, including those in the offices, may be deployed. Follow-on forces from the other regions will also help us. The major services, the Army, Navy and Air Force, will also provide personnel,” he said. –-Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star) with Alexis Romero