Villagers face displacement by bypass road
LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—Residents of the village of Baay here have asked the government to relocate the P1-billion Lingayen-Binmaley bypass road which would displace them from their homes, work and school.
The 7-kilometer bypass road was designed to ease traffic along the highway connecting this capital town and Binmaley town.
“This is a long overdue project because the traffic situation especially in Lingayen and Binmaley town proper, where gridlock is common, has worsened through the years,” said Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, who initiated the project.
‘Where will we go?’
During a public consultation on Thursday, villagers asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to look for other areas for the road.
Abraham Caburnay, 37, a market vendor, said: “It was where my grandfather and father were born.”
Article continues after this advertisement“I was born there and my children were born there. Besides, if our home is taken, where will we go?” Caburnay said, who lives in a 200-square-meter lot in Baay.
Ruth Sison, 32, said she would lose 371 square meters of her family’s 409-square-meter property. —YOLANDA SOTELO
