BLOCKED The landslides along the section of the Manila North Road at Barangay Pancian in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, on Sept. 10 have restricted travel between the coastal town and its neighboring localities in Cagayan province. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS-ILOCOS
LAOAG CITY — Layers of mud and rocks from a series of landslides continued to block a portion of the national highway in Pagudpud town, Ilocos Norte province, cutting off access to neighboring provinces in the Cagayan Valley region.
According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), a section of the Manila North Road in Barangay Pancian remained impassable on Friday, or almost a week after loose soil and boulders surged down from the roadside mountain slopes.
The road, which is situated near the border of Claveria town in Cagayan province, serves as the gateway to most parts of Cagayan Valley.
Pagudpud, a town famous for its beaches and resorts, is the northernmost municipality of Ilocos Norte.
In separate advisories early this week, the DPWH and the provincial government described as “major” and “severe” the landslides that struck the area on Sept. 10 reportedly due to the inclement weather.
The DPWH had deployed heavy equipment to the area to clear out the obstructions as it asked residents and travelers to temporarily avoid the area for their safety. As of Friday morning, both lanes of the road were still impassable to all types of vehicles, the DPWH said.
Damaged pavement
The agency said the series of landslides damaged the concrete pavement of the highway.
Marcell Tabije, provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer, said on Friday that workers clearing the debris were already asked to work overtime.
Due to the road closure, some residents were forced to hire fishing boats to reach their destinations in the northern tip of the province and nearby Cagayan towns, the Inquirer learned.
In a radio interview, Pancian councilman Jay-Z Lagundino said students and workers from their village had to pay P200 each for a boat ride to get to their school or workplace at the town proper.
Pagudpud Mayor Rafael Benemerito appealed to local fishermen to avoid charging excessively in ferrying the stranded individuals.
Tabije said rubber boats would be provided by the provincial government to augment those from the Philippine Coast Guard, which was also assisting the affected residents.
Flexible classes
The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City said some students from the affected areas in Pagudpud had to temporarily return to modular learning since the road closure prevented them from going to their classes at the university, which is about 93 kilometers from the town.
In a memorandum, the MMSU said it would give the affected students “utmost consideration.”
The DPWH said travelers who need to go to Cagayan from Metro Manila could also pass through alternate routes via the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya.
It said there were also alternate routes for interprovince travel available for all types of vehicles via the Ilocos Sur-Abra-Kalinga-Tuguegarao Road and vice versa.
Other alternate routes are only passable using four-wheel drives since these traverse rivers, it said.