DPWH priority: Clear Catanduanes roads

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday said its teams were working as fast as possible to clear roads in Catanduanes to make way for relief operations in the province that was pummeled by Typhoon “Rolly” (international name: Goni) when it made landfall on Sunday.

Power and communication lines have yet to be restored fully in Catanduanes and Albay—the provinces that bore the typhoon’s brunt. But reports from the Office of Civil Defense in the Bicol region said the airport in Catanduanes’ capital of Virac had already been opened for limited operations while sea travel to the island resumed on Tuesday.

“DPWH quick response teams are fast-tracking clearing operations along the affected road sections [on] the island as we have no alternative routes as of the moment. These roads must be opened soonest for the relief efforts which Catanduanes badly needs right now,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

Four sections of the Catanduanes Circumferential Road are impassable due to landslides and fallen trees, while the Junction Bato-Baras Road and Baras-Gigmoto-Viga Road are closed due to fallen electrical posts, he said.

Infrastructure damage

The DPWH has estimated damage to public infrastructure at P5.76 billion, with the destruction in Bicol reaching P4.621 billion. Estimated damage to roads reached P1.515 billion; to bridges, P458.2 million; to flood-control structures, P2.036 billion; to public buildings, P367.25 million; and to other infrastructure, P1.379 billion.

Aside from those in Catanduanes, five other road closures were reported in Albay and Camarines Sur, where Rolly crossed on its way to provinces in the Calabarzon and Mimaropa regions.

The DPWH also reported two remaining closed road sections — one in Apayao province in the Cordillera and another in Nueva Ecija province in Central Luzon — due to fallen poles, wires and other debris from typhoons that hit these areas last month.

A total of 19 road sections have been cleared and opened by the DPWH teams.

—Dona Z. Pazzibugan