BETTER ROAD SOON This damaged section of the Maharlika Highway in Pinabacdao, Samar, shown here on June 21, 2023, will finally get repaired, with P8 billion allotted this year to upgrade and widen the 395.52-kilometer segment in Eastern Visayas. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SAMAR DAILY NEWS ONLINE
TACLOBAN CITY—The deteriorated 395.52-kilometer segment of the Maharlika Highway in Eastern Visayas will finally get a much-needed rehabilitation after the national government earmarked at least P8 billion this year for its repair and widening.
The allocation formed part of the estimated P29.73-billion budget for the complete repair of the highway, a vital network of roads, bridges, and ferry services connecting Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Edgar Tabacon, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said this substantial funding proves that the government prioritizes repairing the Maharlika Highway.
The Maharlika Highway in Eastern Visayas stretches from Northern Samar to Southern Leyte provinces.
Potholes
Completed during the administration of the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the highway linked Eastern Visayas to Luzon via Northern Samar province and to Mindanao through Southern Leyte province. The land (roads and bridges) segments on this highway totaled 3,379.73 km.
Of the highway’s total stretch of 395.52 km in Eastern Visayas, 205.75 km traverse Samar province.
But the deteriorating condition of the Maharlika Highway in the region, characterized by numerous potholes, has drawn widespread criticism and mockery from the public.
READ: Agusan del Sur highway gets P3.19-B rehab fund
As part of the highway’s rehabilitation efforts, Tabacon outlined a plan involving 107 projects, encompassing road and bridge widening, off-carriageway improvements, slope protection, installation of signage and pavement messaging.
There was no timeline yet for when the project would start, as the DPWH was still waiting for the funds to be downloaded to the agency. But it would hopefully be completed before President Marcos Jr. steps down from office in 2028, said Tabacon.
Tabacon emphasized they were counting on the support of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the representative of the first district of Leyte and cousin of President Marcos, to ensure the timely completion of the highway’s rehabilitation under the current administration, which will end in June 2028.
“This project ranks among the top priorities of President Marcos Jr.’s administration,” Tabacon said.
Earlier, the DPWH also announced that the highway’s 122-km segment in Agusan del Sur province in the Caraga region in Mindanao would be getting P3.19 billion for its rehabilitation this year. INQ