BOKOD, BENGUET—Baguio City and Banaue town in Ifugao province got some sort of official endorsement as must-see places in the Cordillera Administrative Region when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo decided to name the newly improved Baguio-Aritao Road the Baguio-Banaue Road.

She, however, told local officials and contractors that all road networks in the Cordillera must have drainage and slope protection to make them truly an all-weather road system.

Ms Arroyo, who was with her family in Baguio for the holidays, came here on Dec. 31 to inaugurate the 1.65-kilometer Ambuklao Dam bypass road.

Improvement project

The road forms part of the improvement project of the 68.12-km Baguio-Aritao Road that links Baguio, Benguet and Nueva Vizcaya.

Access to Ifugao via this road cuts travel time from Baguio to Aritao from seven to three hours as the route will skip Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and parts of Nueva Vizcaya.

“Baguio-Banaue Road,” Ms Arroyo said when Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane asked her what name she would like the road project to be called.

It’s because Baguio and Banaue are tourism areas, she said.

But she reminded local officials to see to it that the drainage and slope protection for all road networks were in place to avert slides and road cuts.

Strategic location

The Baguio-Aritao Road forms part of the North Luzon strategic road network that serves the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions.

The Department of Public Works and Highways said Baguio would become a focal point in traveling to the special eco-tourism areas of the Cordillera.

Vegetable farmers from Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera are also expected to benefit from the road in going to Baguio, considered the center of business and commerce in Northern Luzon. Delmar Cariño, Inquirer Northern Luzon