Kennon Road closed as Ambo rattles quarantined countryside

BAGUIO CITY — Kennon Road has been closed as a precaution against rockslides as Tropical Storm Ambo blows through a countryside weary from the quarantine. Only residents are allowed access to the Zigzag road, according to instructions given on Thursday (May 14) by Albert Mogol, chair of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC). Although Baguio has locked down its borders, motorists with travel passes have been advised to take Marcos Highway and Naguilian Road. The summer capital, which is shifting to a general community quarantine on Saturday (May 16), had been placed under Signal No. 1 along with the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra and Ifugao. Food packs and a P3 million quick response fund have been prepared, according to a Philippine Information Agency alert that quotes Leo Quintilla, Cordillera director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Mogol, who is also Cordillera director of the Office of Civil Defense, advised the Benguet towns of Itogon and Tuba to take precautions. Itogon, a mining town, lost almost a hundred people at small scale mine camps when Typhoon Ompong triggered landslides in 2018. Most roads leading up to Baguio course through Tuba.